American Forces Press Service
April 20, 2009 - The British military support ship Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight, working in support of the Combined Maritime Forces, thwarted two April 18 pirate attacks on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, resulting in the release of 13 hostages and disrupting the activities of 14 Somali pirates. "This is a clear demonstration of how cooperation between more than a dozen international naval forces can result in the successful disruption of piracy activity," said Royal Navy Commodore Tim Lowe, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces. "In the last 72 hours alone, coordinated efforts of six different nations resulted in the release of 49 innocent merchant mariners who had been held hostage by armed pirates, as well as the interception of 46 suspected pirates."
Lowe cautioned that naval forces will not be the sole solution to piracy, but said coordinated international naval efforts would continue to disrupt criminal acts of piracy.
While working in conjunction with international naval forces deployed to the region, Wave Knight's crew received a distress call at about 8 a.m. from Merchant Vessel Handy Tankers Magic, which was under attack by pirates.
The attack broke off before Wave Knight arrived, but the ship followed their skiff to a fishing dhow, a sailboat commonly used by natives along the African and Indian coasts. The dhow was later confirmed to be a pirate "mother ship." Via radio, Wave Knight ordered the dhow to stop and used a Royal Navy armed force protection team as well as the ship's own weapons team to provide cover. The pirate vessel complied.
Dutch warship HNLMS De Zeven Provincien, deployed as part of NATO's Standing Naval Maritime Group 1, arrived and its crew determined no pirates or hostages were aboard the vessel. Ultimately, 13 fishermen who had been held hostage by pirates since April 12 were freed and able to return home to Yemen.
Since the seven suspected pirates aboard the dhow were not captured in the act of piracy, they were released, but they were disarmed and their weapons were destroyed.
Two hours later, Wave Knight received a second distress call from Merchant Vessel Front Ardennes. Wave Knight arrived and successfully deterred the skiff, preventing the pirates from boarding the tanker. Following repeated warnings to move away, Wave Knight fired warning shots, which caused the pirates to break off their attack and flee the scene.
With the assistance of helicopters from the NATO task group ships HMCS Winnipeg and USS Halyburton, Wave Knight followed the pirate skiff for six hours, until relieved by the Winnipeg crew, who boarded the skiff.
Wave Knight provided fuel and landing facilities for the NATO warships' helicopters and was able to maneuver into a position to stop the suspected pirates, allowing Winnipeg's boarding team to disarm and then subsequently release the suspected pirates.
"RFA Wave Knight is a modern replenishment ship designed to be able to support a myriad of coalition maritime operations," said Royal Fleet Auxiliary Capt. I. N. Phillips, Wave Knight's commanding officer. "Our primary role is refueling and aviation operations, but we are fully capable of conducting anti-piracy operations in and around the Horn of Africa. We have been on station for over a year providing support to many nations, and we remain committed to helping ensure maritime security."
Twenty-three nations participate with Combined Maritime Forces to conduct maritime security operations throughout the region and help to set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment.
(From a Combined Maritime Forces news release.)
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thousands Honor Doolittle Raiders at the 67th Reunion
By Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 20, 2009 - Thousands of people, young and old, gathered to honor five of the nine surviving Doolittle Raiders at the 67th Reunion in Columbia, S.C., April 16-18. On April 18, 1942, the Doolittle Raiders, led by then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, became the first to bombard Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"Early on, everybody thought leaving the flight deck of the carrier was the biggest challenge of the trip," retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, Doolittle's co-pilot, said. "As it turned out, it was the easiest thing, and I had a special advantage because I was sitting next to the best pilot in the world. I admire all of the guys; I especially admire the man I was sitting next to, a fine man and a great pilot."
Cole said he grew up idolizing Doolittle. As a teenager, he added, he watched Doolittle conduct flight testing, and was amazed at his luck to fly with him. "I was amazed, dumbfounded and proud," Cole said. "I was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, where they had the first test base. I used to watch Col. Doolittle."
Cole said he doesn't consider himself a hero, but rather was "just doing my job" when he participated in the raid on Japan.
Of the thousands who gathered during the three-day reunion, many came to pay their respects for the raiders' symbolic act only a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Some of the attendees commented that this would probably be the last time the raiders would participate in a reunion in Columbia. Previous reunions of the Doolittle Raiders in Columbia were organized by the Celebrate Freedom Foundation.
"We consider Columbia the home of the Doolittle Raiders," said Ken Breivik, public affairs director for the Celebrate Freedom Foundation, who coordinated both the Doolittle Raiders' 67th "Where Victory Began" reunion, as well as the group's 60th reunion.
To pay tribute to the raiders, a visible reminder of the length of the USS Hornet's flight deck was displayed from the mouth of Columbia's Aeronautics Commission Hangar doors adjacent to a U.S. Air Force B-1 bomber, which displayed the official Doolittle Raider crest and the inscription, "Toujours au Danger" -- "Always into Danger."
As hundreds of spectators gathered at the hangar, four Doolittle Raiders -- Cole, retired Maj. Thomas C. Griffin, retired Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, retired Lt. Col. Edward Saylor and retired Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher -- passed the official Doolittle Raider crest to the 34th Bomb Squadron's flagship B-1 bomber's crew April 17 at the hangar.
Participating in the official passing of the crest was Brig. Gen. James Kowowski, commander of the provisional Air Force Global Strike Command. "President [John F.] Kennedy was quoted as saying that you can tell the character of the nation not only by the men that it produces, but by the men that it honors," Kowowski said.
For their raid 67 years ago, the Doolittle Raiders were drawn from the World War II versions of the 95th, 34th, 37th and the 89th reconnaissance squadrons of the 17th Bomb Group. Air Force Col. Carl "Buck" Shawhan, 28th Operations Group commander at Nellis Air Force Bas, Nev., oversees the present-day 37th and the 34th bomb squadrons.
"As airmen, we understand the significance of the original acts the Doolittle Raiders performed in World War II, and the original Doolittle Raiders were the first airmen to strike against Japan in World War II, flying their B-25 in a surprise attack against the Japanese mainland," Shawhan said. While it was a different time and era, the colonel said, he is awed by their ability to carry out such a bold raid 67 years ago.
"When they took off, they had no idea they would ever see their families again," he said. "They had no idea what kind of impact they would have." The attack had a substantial impact strategically on Japan's defenses, Shawhan noted, and was an uplifting moment in U.S. history.
"Zoom forward to the future: 2001, after 9/11, when the United States was attacked, people were ... wondering about our ability to defend ourselves," Shawhan said. He added that the modern day Doolittle Raiders were one of the first to attack against the Taliban in Afghanistan a month after the Sept. 11 attacks.
U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Helen "Meg" Wildner, granddaughter of Doolittle Raider Lt. Carl Wildner, navigator of the raid's second B-25, will graduate from the academy in 2010, and reflected on the importance of the raid.
"Personally, the Doolitte Raid is definitely important to our history" she said. "It was a huge morale boost. Even after Pearl Harbor, it was an encouraging fact that we could stand up for ourselves and persevere. When you talk to the Doolittle Raiders, they don't necessarily consider themselves these huge heroes. They were just doing their jobs."
(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg serves in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 20, 2009 - Thousands of people, young and old, gathered to honor five of the nine surviving Doolittle Raiders at the 67th Reunion in Columbia, S.C., April 16-18. On April 18, 1942, the Doolittle Raiders, led by then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, became the first to bombard Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"Early on, everybody thought leaving the flight deck of the carrier was the biggest challenge of the trip," retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, Doolittle's co-pilot, said. "As it turned out, it was the easiest thing, and I had a special advantage because I was sitting next to the best pilot in the world. I admire all of the guys; I especially admire the man I was sitting next to, a fine man and a great pilot."
Cole said he grew up idolizing Doolittle. As a teenager, he added, he watched Doolittle conduct flight testing, and was amazed at his luck to fly with him. "I was amazed, dumbfounded and proud," Cole said. "I was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, where they had the first test base. I used to watch Col. Doolittle."
Cole said he doesn't consider himself a hero, but rather was "just doing my job" when he participated in the raid on Japan.
Of the thousands who gathered during the three-day reunion, many came to pay their respects for the raiders' symbolic act only a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Some of the attendees commented that this would probably be the last time the raiders would participate in a reunion in Columbia. Previous reunions of the Doolittle Raiders in Columbia were organized by the Celebrate Freedom Foundation.
"We consider Columbia the home of the Doolittle Raiders," said Ken Breivik, public affairs director for the Celebrate Freedom Foundation, who coordinated both the Doolittle Raiders' 67th "Where Victory Began" reunion, as well as the group's 60th reunion.
To pay tribute to the raiders, a visible reminder of the length of the USS Hornet's flight deck was displayed from the mouth of Columbia's Aeronautics Commission Hangar doors adjacent to a U.S. Air Force B-1 bomber, which displayed the official Doolittle Raider crest and the inscription, "Toujours au Danger" -- "Always into Danger."
As hundreds of spectators gathered at the hangar, four Doolittle Raiders -- Cole, retired Maj. Thomas C. Griffin, retired Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, retired Lt. Col. Edward Saylor and retired Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher -- passed the official Doolittle Raider crest to the 34th Bomb Squadron's flagship B-1 bomber's crew April 17 at the hangar.
Participating in the official passing of the crest was Brig. Gen. James Kowowski, commander of the provisional Air Force Global Strike Command. "President [John F.] Kennedy was quoted as saying that you can tell the character of the nation not only by the men that it produces, but by the men that it honors," Kowowski said.
For their raid 67 years ago, the Doolittle Raiders were drawn from the World War II versions of the 95th, 34th, 37th and the 89th reconnaissance squadrons of the 17th Bomb Group. Air Force Col. Carl "Buck" Shawhan, 28th Operations Group commander at Nellis Air Force Bas, Nev., oversees the present-day 37th and the 34th bomb squadrons.
"As airmen, we understand the significance of the original acts the Doolittle Raiders performed in World War II, and the original Doolittle Raiders were the first airmen to strike against Japan in World War II, flying their B-25 in a surprise attack against the Japanese mainland," Shawhan said. While it was a different time and era, the colonel said, he is awed by their ability to carry out such a bold raid 67 years ago.
"When they took off, they had no idea they would ever see their families again," he said. "They had no idea what kind of impact they would have." The attack had a substantial impact strategically on Japan's defenses, Shawhan noted, and was an uplifting moment in U.S. history.
"Zoom forward to the future: 2001, after 9/11, when the United States was attacked, people were ... wondering about our ability to defend ourselves," Shawhan said. He added that the modern day Doolittle Raiders were one of the first to attack against the Taliban in Afghanistan a month after the Sept. 11 attacks.
U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Helen "Meg" Wildner, granddaughter of Doolittle Raider Lt. Carl Wildner, navigator of the raid's second B-25, will graduate from the academy in 2010, and reflected on the importance of the raid.
"Personally, the Doolitte Raid is definitely important to our history" she said. "It was a huge morale boost. Even after Pearl Harbor, it was an encouraging fact that we could stand up for ourselves and persevere. When you talk to the Doolittle Raiders, they don't necessarily consider themselves these huge heroes. They were just doing their jobs."
(Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg serves in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media directorate.)
Mullen Addresses Suicides, Ops Tempo During Texas Visit
By Rich Lamance
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 20, 2009 - Suicide rates, operational tempo and homeless veterans were some of the topics facing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a news conference following a visit with wounded soldiers and their families at Brooke Army Medical Center here April 17. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, along with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, both of Texas, spoke to reporters following visits to the burn unit at BAMC, as well as to the Center for the Intrepid, the state-of-the-art rehabilitation center adjacent to the hospital.
The group met reporters following a visit to the new Warrior and Family Support Center, a 12,000 square-foot, $5 million facility opened Dec. 1, 2008, for injured servicemembers and their families.
"Brooke Army Medical Center is state-of-the-art and is considered the gold standard for health care for our wounded warriors," Cornyn said. "We're proud of the services here and the healing afforded our wounded service members and their families."
Cornyn stressed that the government has an obligation above simply keeping the nation safe.
"We know that these are challenging times when it comes to national security to our country, with new and emerging threats. ... But I believe ... that keeping our country safe is the No. 1 job of the federal government, then, keeping our commitments to those who wear the uniform and our promise to those who take off the uniform."
Cuellar also stressed the importance of care for wounded warriors. "When the parades are over, the music stops, and the confetti stops hitting the ground," he said, "we look at the care we provide our men and women. That's so important, and that's why we're here today."
Mullen faced the questions of a rapid rise in suicides within the military, primarily in the Army, since 2006. He told reporters that the answers start at the top.
"We are alarmed at the increase in suicides, particularly in the Army," he said. "In all services, the numbers are going up, and ... we are on a pace in 2009 to exceed 2008."
The chairman noted, however, that he was encouraged by a visit to Fort Hood, Texas, the day before.
"I was struck that there are 54,000 soldiers at Fort Hood, and there has been only one suicide since January," he said. "As tragic as each one is, that's a pretty remarkable number when you consider the number of soldiers who are there."
But as bleak as the numbers are, Mullen said, he believes there is a solution.
"I think the solution is leadership," the chairman said. "It's leadership at the top – and that is certainly going on at Fort Hood, but it's also leadership at the [noncommissioned officer] level. And I know the leadership of the services – especially the Army – is very focused on this, and I think that's really a big part of the solution."
But Mullen admitted that the services have been pressed hard during eight years of war and constant deployments.
"Our stress levels are up, and we have to realize that stress is driving a lot of this, and we've got to look at ways to relieve that stress," he said. "The first big step in taking care of our problem is acknowledging that you have one – and we do. Suicide is never easy, [and] solving it won't be easy. But everyone in leadership is focused on it."
Prompted by the recent deaths of two soldiers at BAMC from alleged causes still being investigated, and other cases involving recovering soldiers, Mullen addressed reporters' concerns about the issue.
"When we speak to those wounded soldiers, as well as those who are caring for them, it's clearly a delicate balance here," the admiral said. "In many cases, it's very tough and stressful times for individuals, and that's why coming here to family support is so important. It is important and uplifting. We try to pay a lot of attention to the symptoms that are there, and tragically, sometimes individuals are in a position where the downside occurs and we lose them."
During the session, another topic addressed by reporters was the concern about operational tempo and whether a larger Army might solve the problem of too little time at their home stations for soldiers between deployments.
"We're at, in the Army today, 547,000, which is the authorized end-strength increase from about 485,000 when these wars started," Mullen said. "It's my view that that's about right. And we just got to [574,000], and I'd like to settle out on that before I make any decisions on whether we should increase that."
The topic of operational tempo, Mullen said, is a critical issue for which he believes relief is in sight.
"As I look out within the next 18 to 24 months, I can see a time when units will have more time at home," he said. "I've pushed hard on leadership to make sure that when they are home, they're home -- so when they're home during that 12 months, they spend as much time home as possible. In fact, the term I use is 'home tempo.'
"We need to be paying attention with every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine," he added, to ensure they have time with their families between deployments.
"At the same time," he added, "these are units that are going to prepare for combat again, and they have to have the right amount of training to do that. So there's a delicate balance."
During the chairman's visit, he told the audience that he and his wife, Deborah, were especially impressed by the spirit and determination not only of the wounded soldiers, but also of the families many of the fallen left behind.
"Yesterday, my wife and I met with a dozen or so families who had lost their son or daughter or brother or husband or spouse," he said. "And in every case, we came away inspired by their strength. And it has never happened that a parent or a brother or a sister or a spouse hasn't said that he or she died doing exactly what they wanted to do. They are proud of their service, and so are we. We would not be the country we are without that.
"They know that, the families know that, and certainly any loss, under any circumstance, is tragic, and we work to prevent it as much as possible," he continued. "The extreme concern we have is suicide."
Concerns about wounded warriors who leave the service unable to find work also was a topic of discussion and one that Mullen said needs to be addressed before mistakes of the past are repeated.
"It's something I'm extremely sensitive and focused on," he said. "I call myself a 'Vietnam baby' – we did not take very good care of [servicemembers] coming out of Vietnam. We have a generation of homeless veterans which we still need to focus on.
In September, Mullen said, he sat down with about 20 homeless Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Los Angeles.
"And it's tragic in what they've been through to get there," he said, "and I want to do all I can to make sure we don't generate another generation of homeless vets. Our country – financial crisis notwithstanding – is rich enough and has the resources to take care of these young people who go off and fight our wars and do what we ask them to sacrifice so much."
Mullen said one of the Los Angeles veterans summed it up best: "You know I gave 100 percent. All I'd like is 100 percent back."
(Rich Lamance works at the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 20, 2009 - Suicide rates, operational tempo and homeless veterans were some of the topics facing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a news conference following a visit with wounded soldiers and their families at Brooke Army Medical Center here April 17. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, along with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, both of Texas, spoke to reporters following visits to the burn unit at BAMC, as well as to the Center for the Intrepid, the state-of-the-art rehabilitation center adjacent to the hospital.
The group met reporters following a visit to the new Warrior and Family Support Center, a 12,000 square-foot, $5 million facility opened Dec. 1, 2008, for injured servicemembers and their families.
"Brooke Army Medical Center is state-of-the-art and is considered the gold standard for health care for our wounded warriors," Cornyn said. "We're proud of the services here and the healing afforded our wounded service members and their families."
Cornyn stressed that the government has an obligation above simply keeping the nation safe.
"We know that these are challenging times when it comes to national security to our country, with new and emerging threats. ... But I believe ... that keeping our country safe is the No. 1 job of the federal government, then, keeping our commitments to those who wear the uniform and our promise to those who take off the uniform."
Cuellar also stressed the importance of care for wounded warriors. "When the parades are over, the music stops, and the confetti stops hitting the ground," he said, "we look at the care we provide our men and women. That's so important, and that's why we're here today."
Mullen faced the questions of a rapid rise in suicides within the military, primarily in the Army, since 2006. He told reporters that the answers start at the top.
"We are alarmed at the increase in suicides, particularly in the Army," he said. "In all services, the numbers are going up, and ... we are on a pace in 2009 to exceed 2008."
The chairman noted, however, that he was encouraged by a visit to Fort Hood, Texas, the day before.
"I was struck that there are 54,000 soldiers at Fort Hood, and there has been only one suicide since January," he said. "As tragic as each one is, that's a pretty remarkable number when you consider the number of soldiers who are there."
But as bleak as the numbers are, Mullen said, he believes there is a solution.
"I think the solution is leadership," the chairman said. "It's leadership at the top – and that is certainly going on at Fort Hood, but it's also leadership at the [noncommissioned officer] level. And I know the leadership of the services – especially the Army – is very focused on this, and I think that's really a big part of the solution."
But Mullen admitted that the services have been pressed hard during eight years of war and constant deployments.
"Our stress levels are up, and we have to realize that stress is driving a lot of this, and we've got to look at ways to relieve that stress," he said. "The first big step in taking care of our problem is acknowledging that you have one – and we do. Suicide is never easy, [and] solving it won't be easy. But everyone in leadership is focused on it."
Prompted by the recent deaths of two soldiers at BAMC from alleged causes still being investigated, and other cases involving recovering soldiers, Mullen addressed reporters' concerns about the issue.
"When we speak to those wounded soldiers, as well as those who are caring for them, it's clearly a delicate balance here," the admiral said. "In many cases, it's very tough and stressful times for individuals, and that's why coming here to family support is so important. It is important and uplifting. We try to pay a lot of attention to the symptoms that are there, and tragically, sometimes individuals are in a position where the downside occurs and we lose them."
During the session, another topic addressed by reporters was the concern about operational tempo and whether a larger Army might solve the problem of too little time at their home stations for soldiers between deployments.
"We're at, in the Army today, 547,000, which is the authorized end-strength increase from about 485,000 when these wars started," Mullen said. "It's my view that that's about right. And we just got to [574,000], and I'd like to settle out on that before I make any decisions on whether we should increase that."
The topic of operational tempo, Mullen said, is a critical issue for which he believes relief is in sight.
"As I look out within the next 18 to 24 months, I can see a time when units will have more time at home," he said. "I've pushed hard on leadership to make sure that when they are home, they're home -- so when they're home during that 12 months, they spend as much time home as possible. In fact, the term I use is 'home tempo.'
"We need to be paying attention with every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine," he added, to ensure they have time with their families between deployments.
"At the same time," he added, "these are units that are going to prepare for combat again, and they have to have the right amount of training to do that. So there's a delicate balance."
During the chairman's visit, he told the audience that he and his wife, Deborah, were especially impressed by the spirit and determination not only of the wounded soldiers, but also of the families many of the fallen left behind.
"Yesterday, my wife and I met with a dozen or so families who had lost their son or daughter or brother or husband or spouse," he said. "And in every case, we came away inspired by their strength. And it has never happened that a parent or a brother or a sister or a spouse hasn't said that he or she died doing exactly what they wanted to do. They are proud of their service, and so are we. We would not be the country we are without that.
"They know that, the families know that, and certainly any loss, under any circumstance, is tragic, and we work to prevent it as much as possible," he continued. "The extreme concern we have is suicide."
Concerns about wounded warriors who leave the service unable to find work also was a topic of discussion and one that Mullen said needs to be addressed before mistakes of the past are repeated.
"It's something I'm extremely sensitive and focused on," he said. "I call myself a 'Vietnam baby' – we did not take very good care of [servicemembers] coming out of Vietnam. We have a generation of homeless veterans which we still need to focus on.
In September, Mullen said, he sat down with about 20 homeless Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Los Angeles.
"And it's tragic in what they've been through to get there," he said, "and I want to do all I can to make sure we don't generate another generation of homeless vets. Our country – financial crisis notwithstanding – is rich enough and has the resources to take care of these young people who go off and fight our wars and do what we ask them to sacrifice so much."
Mullen said one of the Los Angeles veterans summed it up best: "You know I gave 100 percent. All I'd like is 100 percent back."
(Rich Lamance works at the Army and Air Force Hometown News Service.)
Holocaust Remembrance Day Shows Life's Decisions Matter, Mullen Says
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 20, 2009 - The top U.S. military officer called on servicemembers to use Holocaust Remembrance Day observances this week as an opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities of life, reminding them that the decisions they make matter. "The story of the Holocaust, however ghastly, offers us an opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities in life," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a message being aired on the Pentagon Channel.
"It's a chance to remember that what we do – or choose not to do – really matters," he said.
Mullen pointed to the example of Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who went on to join the U.S. Army and earn the Medal of Honor for actions during the Korean War.
"He lost his family to the Nazis and later managed to survive his own ordeal in a concentration camp," Mullen said, referring to Rubin's two-year confinement at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, before he was liberated by American troops at age 15.
"After liberation, he became an American soldier and fought for his new country in the Korean War," Mullen said.
A private first class, Rubin was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division's 8th Regiment, where records show an anti-Semitic noncommissioned officer often assigned him to the most dangerous missions.
For his acts of bravery, including single-handedly defending a hill against North Korean soldiers for 24 hours so his company could safely retreat, Rubin was nominated three times for the Medal of Honor. The paperwork was never processed – again, because his bigoted NCO ignored orders to submit it, records show.
Rubin was taken prisoner again, this time by Chinese troops in 1950. He spent 30 months in another prisoner-of-war camp, helping to sustain his fellow prisoners as they began to give up hope.
As Mullen noted in his Holocaust Remembrance Day message, Rubin never learned to hate. "If you feel hate for your fellow man, you'll only hurt yourself," Mullen said, quoting Rubin.
Rubin's actions in Korea finally received their long-overdue recognition when President George W. Bush presented him the Medal of Honor on Sept. 23, 2005 -- more than 55 years after the fact.
"But the honor is ours to have had him in our ranks," Mullen said of Rubin.
The chairman encouraged servicemembers to recognize Rubin and others like him as they observe Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"As we pause to remember the 6 million who perished, let us also pause to celebrate the lives of those who survived -- who went on to teach us the great responsibility of life itself," he said. "It matters what we do."
Communities throughout the United States, Europe and Israel began commemorating the 44th Holocaust Remembrance Day yesterday, leading up to major observances around the world tomorrow.
American Forces Press Service
April 20, 2009 - The top U.S. military officer called on servicemembers to use Holocaust Remembrance Day observances this week as an opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities of life, reminding them that the decisions they make matter. "The story of the Holocaust, however ghastly, offers us an opportunity to reflect on the responsibilities in life," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a message being aired on the Pentagon Channel.
"It's a chance to remember that what we do – or choose not to do – really matters," he said.
Mullen pointed to the example of Tibor Rubin, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who went on to join the U.S. Army and earn the Medal of Honor for actions during the Korean War.
"He lost his family to the Nazis and later managed to survive his own ordeal in a concentration camp," Mullen said, referring to Rubin's two-year confinement at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, before he was liberated by American troops at age 15.
"After liberation, he became an American soldier and fought for his new country in the Korean War," Mullen said.
A private first class, Rubin was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division's 8th Regiment, where records show an anti-Semitic noncommissioned officer often assigned him to the most dangerous missions.
For his acts of bravery, including single-handedly defending a hill against North Korean soldiers for 24 hours so his company could safely retreat, Rubin was nominated three times for the Medal of Honor. The paperwork was never processed – again, because his bigoted NCO ignored orders to submit it, records show.
Rubin was taken prisoner again, this time by Chinese troops in 1950. He spent 30 months in another prisoner-of-war camp, helping to sustain his fellow prisoners as they began to give up hope.
As Mullen noted in his Holocaust Remembrance Day message, Rubin never learned to hate. "If you feel hate for your fellow man, you'll only hurt yourself," Mullen said, quoting Rubin.
Rubin's actions in Korea finally received their long-overdue recognition when President George W. Bush presented him the Medal of Honor on Sept. 23, 2005 -- more than 55 years after the fact.
"But the honor is ours to have had him in our ranks," Mullen said of Rubin.
The chairman encouraged servicemembers to recognize Rubin and others like him as they observe Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"As we pause to remember the 6 million who perished, let us also pause to celebrate the lives of those who survived -- who went on to teach us the great responsibility of life itself," he said. "It matters what we do."
Communities throughout the United States, Europe and Israel began commemorating the 44th Holocaust Remembrance Day yesterday, leading up to major observances around the world tomorrow.
VA Welcomes Veterans Home with New Web Site, Blog
American Forces Press Service
April 20, 2009 - The Veterans Affairs Department has launched its new "Returning Veterans" Web site at http:// www.oefoif.va.gov to welcome home veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts with a social, veteran-centric Web site that focuses on their needs and questions, VA officials announced today. "VA is entering the world of Web 2.0, because that's where this generation of veterans is already communicating," said Dr. Gerald M. Cross, VA's principal deputy undersecretary for health. "We're opening our doors to them virtually to let them know what they can expect when they step through our doors in reality."
The Web site will feature videos, veterans' stories and a blog where veterans are encouraged to post feedback. The site also will restructure the traditional index-of-benefits format found on other VA pages into question-based, categorized, and easily navigated links by topic. This will allow veterans to find benefits of interest easily and discover related benefits as they explore, officials said.
"We hope our returning veterans find this site easy and helpful, but also engaging," Cross said. "As the site grows, we will be linking to veterans' blogs and highlighting more of their own stories from their own views. We are their VA, so we are eager to provide a forum for veterans to discuss their lives."
(From a Veterans Affairs Department news release.)
April 20, 2009 - The Veterans Affairs Department has launched its new "Returning Veterans" Web site at http:// www.oefoif.va.gov to welcome home veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts with a social, veteran-centric Web site that focuses on their needs and questions, VA officials announced today. "VA is entering the world of Web 2.0, because that's where this generation of veterans is already communicating," said Dr. Gerald M. Cross, VA's principal deputy undersecretary for health. "We're opening our doors to them virtually to let them know what they can expect when they step through our doors in reality."
The Web site will feature videos, veterans' stories and a blog where veterans are encouraged to post feedback. The site also will restructure the traditional index-of-benefits format found on other VA pages into question-based, categorized, and easily navigated links by topic. This will allow veterans to find benefits of interest easily and discover related benefits as they explore, officials said.
"We hope our returning veterans find this site easy and helpful, but also engaging," Cross said. "As the site grows, we will be linking to veterans' blogs and highlighting more of their own stories from their own views. We are their VA, so we are eager to provide a forum for veterans to discuss their lives."
(From a Veterans Affairs Department news release.)
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 20, 2009
NAVY
Vericor Power Systems, LLC, Alpharetta, Ga., is being awarded a $32,102,544 firm fixed price modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-4117) to exercise an option for the manufacture, testing and delivery of 24 ETF40B marine gas turbine engines for the Landing Craft - Air Cushion (LCAC) Service Life Extension Program fiscal year 2009 requirements. Work will be performed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and is expected to be completed by August 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Nan, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a $21,451,629 firm fixed price contract for the renovation of Pacific Regional Center (PRC) Building 130 and Sea Animal Research Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ford Island, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Work will be performed on Ford Island, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by November 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with seven proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, is the contracting activity (N62742-09-C-1307).
Tetra Tech EC Inc., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded $13,882,869 for task order #0018 to a previously awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (N62473-07-D-3211) for Remedial Action Contract (RAC V) for radiological support at Hunters Point Shipyard, San Francisco, Calif. The work to be performed is on site radiological support work to enable contractors to complete both chemical and radiological removal and remediation work. The contract also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase the cumulative task order value to $14,390,495. Work will be performed in San Francisco, Calif., and is expected to be completed by April 19, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The total contract amount is not to exceed $100,000,000 (base period and four option years). The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
URS-IAP, LLC, Austin, Texas, is being awarded $11,253,117 for a cost reimbursement task order 0012 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62470-06-D-6009) for design and construction of a 2,150 square meter aircraft maintenance hangar and a 340 square meter telecommunications facility at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. Work will be performed in Djibouti, Africa, and is expected to be completed by November 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is being awarded an $8,000,075 modification to previously awarded cost plus award fee contract (N00024-06-C-2307) to exercise an option for the accomplishment of Lead Yard Class Services for the DDG 51 Class AEGIS Destroyer Program. This option exercise is for additional Class Design Services and modernization support. The Lead Yard Contract will provide technical assistance to the Follow Yard in the interpretation and application of the detailed design developed by Bath Iron Works Corporation, the Lead Yard contractor. DDG 51 Class services include: Liaison for Follow Ship Construction, General Class Services, Class Logistic Services, Class Design Agent Services and Class Change Design Services for Follow Ships. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by April 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Brighton, Mass., is being awarded a $7,301,220 firm fixed price contract modification (0024) against a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (M67854-07-C-3053) for an additional 64,000 Marine Corps Running Suits. The Marine Corps Running Suit is an all weather jacket and pant suit for use by all Marines during physical training and for wear during liberty to enable its use as a recruiting tool. Performance, with estimate of percentages to be performed, will be based on use of three subcontractors: Excel Manufacturing, El Paso, Texas, (47 percent); Romo Productions, Santa Ana, Calif., (36 percent) and Summit Sportswear, Salem, Oregon, (17 percent), and delivery is expected to be completed by October 31, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus fixed fee contract to Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio for an estimated $22,545,319. The objective of this task is to develop chemical/biological defense exercises or the Center for Asymetric Warfare, Naval Post Graduate School. At this time, $60,870 has been obligated. 55th CONS/LGCD, Offutt, Nebraska is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, Delivery Order: 0583).
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Rockwell Collins Government Systems of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for $13,453,521. This action will modify and install 2 existing Global Air Traffic Management Program A & B kits to the OC-135B Open Skies Aircraft. 827 ACSG/PK, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma is the contracting activity (F33657-98-C-0036, P00108).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $8,336,790 firm fixed price contract for transfer cases with containers for the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is the Army. This was originally a sole source competition. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is April 20, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-09-D-0007).
Vericor Power Systems, LLC, Alpharetta, Ga., is being awarded a $32,102,544 firm fixed price modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-4117) to exercise an option for the manufacture, testing and delivery of 24 ETF40B marine gas turbine engines for the Landing Craft - Air Cushion (LCAC) Service Life Extension Program fiscal year 2009 requirements. Work will be performed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and is expected to be completed by August 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Nan, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a $21,451,629 firm fixed price contract for the renovation of Pacific Regional Center (PRC) Building 130 and Sea Animal Research Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Ford Island, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Work will be performed on Ford Island, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by November 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with seven proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, is the contracting activity (N62742-09-C-1307).
Tetra Tech EC Inc., San Diego, Calif., is being awarded $13,882,869 for task order #0018 to a previously awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (N62473-07-D-3211) for Remedial Action Contract (RAC V) for radiological support at Hunters Point Shipyard, San Francisco, Calif. The work to be performed is on site radiological support work to enable contractors to complete both chemical and radiological removal and remediation work. The contract also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase the cumulative task order value to $14,390,495. Work will be performed in San Francisco, Calif., and is expected to be completed by April 19, 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The total contract amount is not to exceed $100,000,000 (base period and four option years). The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity.
URS-IAP, LLC, Austin, Texas, is being awarded $11,253,117 for a cost reimbursement task order 0012 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62470-06-D-6009) for design and construction of a 2,150 square meter aircraft maintenance hangar and a 340 square meter telecommunications facility at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti. Work will be performed in Djibouti, Africa, and is expected to be completed by November 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is being awarded an $8,000,075 modification to previously awarded cost plus award fee contract (N00024-06-C-2307) to exercise an option for the accomplishment of Lead Yard Class Services for the DDG 51 Class AEGIS Destroyer Program. This option exercise is for additional Class Design Services and modernization support. The Lead Yard Contract will provide technical assistance to the Follow Yard in the interpretation and application of the detailed design developed by Bath Iron Works Corporation, the Lead Yard contractor. DDG 51 Class services include: Liaison for Follow Ship Construction, General Class Services, Class Logistic Services, Class Design Agent Services and Class Change Design Services for Follow Ships. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by April 2010. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Brighton, Mass., is being awarded a $7,301,220 firm fixed price contract modification (0024) against a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (M67854-07-C-3053) for an additional 64,000 Marine Corps Running Suits. The Marine Corps Running Suit is an all weather jacket and pant suit for use by all Marines during physical training and for wear during liberty to enable its use as a recruiting tool. Performance, with estimate of percentages to be performed, will be based on use of three subcontractors: Excel Manufacturing, El Paso, Texas, (47 percent); Romo Productions, Santa Ana, Calif., (36 percent) and Summit Sportswear, Salem, Oregon, (17 percent), and delivery is expected to be completed by October 31, 2009. Contract funds will expire at the end of current fiscal year. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a cost plus fixed fee contract to Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio for an estimated $22,545,319. The objective of this task is to develop chemical/biological defense exercises or the Center for Asymetric Warfare, Naval Post Graduate School. At this time, $60,870 has been obligated. 55th CONS/LGCD, Offutt, Nebraska is the contracting activity (SP0700-00-D-3180, Delivery Order: 0583).
The Air Force is modifying a firm fixed price contract with Rockwell Collins Government Systems of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for $13,453,521. This action will modify and install 2 existing Global Air Traffic Management Program A & B kits to the OC-135B Open Skies Aircraft. 827 ACSG/PK, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma is the contracting activity (F33657-98-C-0036, P00108).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Oshkosh Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $8,336,790 firm fixed price contract for transfer cases with containers for the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. There are no other locations of performance. Using service is the Army. This was originally a sole source competition. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The date of performance completion is April 20, 2014. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Warren, Mich., (SPRDL1-09-D-0007).
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Personal Protective Equipment
There are many challenges and conflictions when trying to select Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and full body PPE suits. The equipment needs to fit well and stop the bullets in and ever growing society of hostilities directed towards law enforcement officers. With these increasing numbers of personal attacks on the law enforcement community have forced many officers to follow their first intuition to don their PPE body armor prior to working the streets.
READ ON
http://www.police-writers.com/articles/personal_protective_equipment_basics.html
READ ON
http://www.police-writers.com/articles/personal_protective_equipment_basics.html
Piracy Requires More Than Military Solution, Top Officials Say
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 18, 2009 - Military force is only part of the solution to the recent wave of piracy in the waters off Somalia, the Pentagon's top military and civilian officials said. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said fighting piracy will require an international effort that includes a whole-of-government approach in addition to military force.
"It's not just a military solution here," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said in a National Public Radio interview today.
Pirates have attacked at least three ships recently in the waters off Somalia and Yemen, and Dutch marines rescued 20 Yemeni fishermen after their boat was hijacked and used as a mother ship for Somalis operating against an oil tanker.
More than 80 attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden and waters adjoining Somalia have taken place this year. Though war ships from 16 nations are in the region, Mullen said, it is impossible to have ships everywhere in a 1.1 million-square-mile-area.
"There are an awful lot of ships, and the number of Navy ships we have out there cannot cover the water," Mullen said. "Nor would increasing that number dramatically cover the water."
At the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., yesterday, Gates said shipping companies have a responsibility in helping to combat piracy off Somalia, noting that some companies are prepared to pay ransoms to pirates as part of the cost of doing business.
"Clearly, if they didn't pay the ransoms, we would be in a stronger position," the secretary said.
Somali pirates currently hold 15 ships and about 280 hostages. Piracy has become a business for Somalis, who live in a failed state.
"The impact of the dollars that these pirates get in their villages and for the individuals involved is staggering, because their home villages are unspeakably poor," Gates said in Newport. "And the infusion of millions of dollars into them, and the corruption and everything else makes it a very attractive career field for a lot of poor young men who have no prospects." And desperation on the ground will continue to make piracy attractive, Gates added.
"It's a complex problem, and I think it involves both a maritime aspect that involves enforcement and a kinetic aspect," he said. "But I think until we can do something to provide some kind of stability on land and some prospects for these people, it's going to be a tough problem."
On NPR today, Mullen said more needs to be done to punish piracy. "In the end, this is a crime, and it needs to be prosecuted in a court," he said. "The only country the United States has an agreement with is Kenya, where we have transferred pirates that we've captured. That part of the system has to be more robust than it is right now."
American Forces Press Service
April 18, 2009 - Military force is only part of the solution to the recent wave of piracy in the waters off Somalia, the Pentagon's top military and civilian officials said. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said fighting piracy will require an international effort that includes a whole-of-government approach in addition to military force.
"It's not just a military solution here," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said in a National Public Radio interview today.
Pirates have attacked at least three ships recently in the waters off Somalia and Yemen, and Dutch marines rescued 20 Yemeni fishermen after their boat was hijacked and used as a mother ship for Somalis operating against an oil tanker.
More than 80 attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden and waters adjoining Somalia have taken place this year. Though war ships from 16 nations are in the region, Mullen said, it is impossible to have ships everywhere in a 1.1 million-square-mile-area.
"There are an awful lot of ships, and the number of Navy ships we have out there cannot cover the water," Mullen said. "Nor would increasing that number dramatically cover the water."
At the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., yesterday, Gates said shipping companies have a responsibility in helping to combat piracy off Somalia, noting that some companies are prepared to pay ransoms to pirates as part of the cost of doing business.
"Clearly, if they didn't pay the ransoms, we would be in a stronger position," the secretary said.
Somali pirates currently hold 15 ships and about 280 hostages. Piracy has become a business for Somalis, who live in a failed state.
"The impact of the dollars that these pirates get in their villages and for the individuals involved is staggering, because their home villages are unspeakably poor," Gates said in Newport. "And the infusion of millions of dollars into them, and the corruption and everything else makes it a very attractive career field for a lot of poor young men who have no prospects." And desperation on the ground will continue to make piracy attractive, Gates added.
"It's a complex problem, and I think it involves both a maritime aspect that involves enforcement and a kinetic aspect," he said. "But I think until we can do something to provide some kind of stability on land and some prospects for these people, it's going to be a tough problem."
On NPR today, Mullen said more needs to be done to punish piracy. "In the end, this is a crime, and it needs to be prosecuted in a court," he said. "The only country the United States has an agreement with is Kenya, where we have transferred pirates that we've captured. That part of the system has to be more robust than it is right now."
Friday, April 17, 2009
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 17, 2009
NAVY
BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Nashua, N.H., is being awarded a $33,676,912 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-08-C-0044) for the Low Rate Initial Production Lot V of the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) AN/ALE-55(V) Subsystems and associated technical support and non-recurring engineering for the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18E/F aircraft. The AN/ALE-55(V) subsystem consists of an electronic frequency converter (EFC) and a fiber optic towed decoy (FOTD). This modification provides for a total of 70 EFCs for the U.S. Navy, (58) and the Royal Australian Air Force, (12); and 323 FOTDs for the U.S. Navy, (251) and the Royal Australian Air Force, (72). Work will be performed in Nashua, N.H., (92 percent) and Mountain View, Calif., (8 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy, ($27,469,780; 81.57 percent) and the Government of Australia, ($6,207,132; 18.43 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $10,250,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-4005) for non-nuclear maintenance and repair support at the Naval Submarine Support Facility, Naval Submarine Base, New London, Conn. Under the terms of the contract, Electric Boat will continue to provide services required to support planned and emergent non-nuclear maintenance and repair for operational nuclear submarines, floating dry-docks, support & service craft and other platforms and equipment. Work will be performed in New London, Conn., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $10,250,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.
ARMY
General Dynamics C$ Systems, Scottsdale, Ariz., was awarded on Apr. 15, 2009 a $11,771,894 cost plus fixed fee contract for the technology development phase of the Ground Soldier Ensemble (GSE) program. The Army will be procuring ten (10) GSE prototypes systems for the Prototype Phase. This contract also includes an option to support a potential Marine Corp requirement of five (5) GSE refined systems. Work is to be performed in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Anaheim, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 13, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and eight bids were received. Tacom Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-0382)
Rohde & Schwarz Inc. Columbia, Md., was awarded on Apr. 15, 2009 a $5,647,530 firm fixed price contract for compact receivers, spare parts package and contractor training as required by foreign customer under foreign military sales. Work is to be performed in Munich, Germany with an estimated completion date of Apr. 3, 2010. One sole source bids was solicited and one bid received. Cecom Acquisition center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-09-C-D012).
Raytheon Company, McKinney, Texas was awarded on Apr. 15, 2009 a $5,494,229 cost plus fixed fee contract for the technology development phase of the Ground Soldier Ensemble (GSE) program. The Army will be procuring ten (10) GSE prototypes systems for the Prototype Phase. This contract also includes an option to support a potential Marine Corp requirement of five (5) GSE refined systems. Work is to be performed in McKinney, Texas, Tempe, Ariz., and Poway, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 13, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and eight bids were received. Tacom Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-0381).
Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapid Iowa was awarded on Apr. 15, 2009 a $5,344,549 cost plus fixed fee contract for the technology development phase of the Ground Soldier Ensemble (GSE) program. The Army will be procuring ten (10) GSE prototypes systems for the Prototype Phase. This contract also includes an option to support a potential Marine Corp requirement of five (5) GSE refined systems. Work is to be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Tallahassee, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 13, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and eight bids were received. Tacom Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0385).
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract to McDonnell Douglas Corp., of Long Beach, Calif., for an estimated $7,625,366. This action will provide Recurring Engineering Services for the B-1B Aircraft. At this time, no money has been obligated. OC-ALC/747th/PKB of Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (F33657-01-D-2050-SD21).
BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Nashua, N.H., is being awarded a $33,676,912 modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-08-C-0044) for the Low Rate Initial Production Lot V of the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) AN/ALE-55(V) Subsystems and associated technical support and non-recurring engineering for the U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18E/F aircraft. The AN/ALE-55(V) subsystem consists of an electronic frequency converter (EFC) and a fiber optic towed decoy (FOTD). This modification provides for a total of 70 EFCs for the U.S. Navy, (58) and the Royal Australian Air Force, (12); and 323 FOTDs for the U.S. Navy, (251) and the Royal Australian Air Force, (72). Work will be performed in Nashua, N.H., (92 percent) and Mountain View, Calif., (8 percent), and is expected to be completed in August 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy, ($27,469,780; 81.57 percent) and the Government of Australia, ($6,207,132; 18.43 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales Program. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $10,250,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-4005) for non-nuclear maintenance and repair support at the Naval Submarine Support Facility, Naval Submarine Base, New London, Conn. Under the terms of the contract, Electric Boat will continue to provide services required to support planned and emergent non-nuclear maintenance and repair for operational nuclear submarines, floating dry-docks, support & service craft and other platforms and equipment. Work will be performed in New London, Conn., and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2009. Contract funds in the amount of $10,250,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.
ARMY
General Dynamics C$ Systems, Scottsdale, Ariz., was awarded on Apr. 15, 2009 a $11,771,894 cost plus fixed fee contract for the technology development phase of the Ground Soldier Ensemble (GSE) program. The Army will be procuring ten (10) GSE prototypes systems for the Prototype Phase. This contract also includes an option to support a potential Marine Corp requirement of five (5) GSE refined systems. Work is to be performed in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Anaheim, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 13, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and eight bids were received. Tacom Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-0382)
Rohde & Schwarz Inc. Columbia, Md., was awarded on Apr. 15, 2009 a $5,647,530 firm fixed price contract for compact receivers, spare parts package and contractor training as required by foreign customer under foreign military sales. Work is to be performed in Munich, Germany with an estimated completion date of Apr. 3, 2010. One sole source bids was solicited and one bid received. Cecom Acquisition center, Fort Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-09-C-D012).
Raytheon Company, McKinney, Texas was awarded on Apr. 15, 2009 a $5,494,229 cost plus fixed fee contract for the technology development phase of the Ground Soldier Ensemble (GSE) program. The Army will be procuring ten (10) GSE prototypes systems for the Prototype Phase. This contract also includes an option to support a potential Marine Corp requirement of five (5) GSE refined systems. Work is to be performed in McKinney, Texas, Tempe, Ariz., and Poway, Calif., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 13, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and eight bids were received. Tacom Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-0381).
Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapid Iowa was awarded on Apr. 15, 2009 a $5,344,549 cost plus fixed fee contract for the technology development phase of the Ground Soldier Ensemble (GSE) program. The Army will be procuring ten (10) GSE prototypes systems for the Prototype Phase. This contract also includes an option to support a potential Marine Corp requirement of five (5) GSE refined systems. Work is to be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Tallahassee, Fla., with an estimated completion date of Jan. 13, 2011. Bids were solicited on the World Wide Web and eight bids were received. Tacom Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0385).
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a firm fixed price contract to McDonnell Douglas Corp., of Long Beach, Calif., for an estimated $7,625,366. This action will provide Recurring Engineering Services for the B-1B Aircraft. At this time, no money has been obligated. OC-ALC/747th/PKB of Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (F33657-01-D-2050-SD21).
Next-Generation Navy Destroyer Set for Construction in Maine
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - A recent agreement among the Defense Department, the Navy and shipbuilders will enable more efficient construction of the next-generation destroyer at one shipyard instead of two, a senior Defense Department official announced here today. The "swap" agreement calls for three DDG-1000 destroyers to be built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine, John J. Young Jr., undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters at the Pentagon.
Work on the DDG-1000 destroyers previously was to be split between General Dynamics' Bath Works and Northrop Grumman's Ingalls Shipyard in Mississippi, Young said. As part of the new agreement, the Ingalls shipyard, which also builds some other Navy vessels, will gain a contract to build two more DDG-51 guided-missile destroyers.
The swap agreement, Young said, is the result of months of negotiations and is a reflection of "unprecedented efforts by the Navy and industry partners to operate in a business-like manner." The agreement, he added, involved compromises by all parties "to enable efficient construction of naval vessels."
The DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class vessel is a high-tech, guided-missile destroyer envisioned to eventually replace the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class of warships that were developed 30 years ago. Navy Adm. Arleigh Burke was a famous destroyer commander in the South Pacific during World War II.
Named for Navy Adm. Elmo Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations in the early 1970s and died in January 2000, the DDG-1000 ships feature computer-aided design, modular construction, high-tech armaments and radar, as well as a unique, streamlined hull design.
The DDG-1000's complicated, high-tech content, Young said, makes its design and construction an admittedly expensive endeavor. Cost of a first prototype, or lead, DDG-1000 ship is estimated to be around $3.2 billion, he said, with prices of follow-on vessels likely to decrease due to industrial economies of scale.
The design and development of the DDG-1000 "has gone well," Young said, noting that the program has "gone to budget [and] gone on schedule."
Initial plans were to build 32 of the DDG-1000-series vessels at the Bath and Ingalls shipyards. Today, the Defense Department's proposed fiscal 2010 budget calls for building just three vessels.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today told members of the Naval War College in Newport R.I., that the United States will require a naval presence in the future.
"But we cannot allow more ships to go the way of the DDG-1000," Gates told the Naval War College audience. The DDG-1000's rising cost per ship, he noted, was among the reasons for buying reduced numbers.
Gates has recommended building more Arleigh Burke-class vessels and upgrading those now in the fleet. Sixty-four Arleigh Burkes have been built, not counting the two new ones slated for construction at the Ingalls shipyard.
Gates also deemed the arrangement for constructing DDG-1000s at the two shipyards as inefficient and too costly to taxpayers, Young said.
"I think it was important to him that we build these ships efficiently," Young said of his understanding of Gates' reasoning.
If the DDG-1000s couldn't be efficiently produced, Gates "was potentially prepared, even in the face of clear political danger, to go back and possibly cancel two ships, and that would have cut jobs in both shipyards," Young said.
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - A recent agreement among the Defense Department, the Navy and shipbuilders will enable more efficient construction of the next-generation destroyer at one shipyard instead of two, a senior Defense Department official announced here today. The "swap" agreement calls for three DDG-1000 destroyers to be built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine, John J. Young Jr., undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters at the Pentagon.
Work on the DDG-1000 destroyers previously was to be split between General Dynamics' Bath Works and Northrop Grumman's Ingalls Shipyard in Mississippi, Young said. As part of the new agreement, the Ingalls shipyard, which also builds some other Navy vessels, will gain a contract to build two more DDG-51 guided-missile destroyers.
The swap agreement, Young said, is the result of months of negotiations and is a reflection of "unprecedented efforts by the Navy and industry partners to operate in a business-like manner." The agreement, he added, involved compromises by all parties "to enable efficient construction of naval vessels."
The DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class vessel is a high-tech, guided-missile destroyer envisioned to eventually replace the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class of warships that were developed 30 years ago. Navy Adm. Arleigh Burke was a famous destroyer commander in the South Pacific during World War II.
Named for Navy Adm. Elmo Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of naval operations in the early 1970s and died in January 2000, the DDG-1000 ships feature computer-aided design, modular construction, high-tech armaments and radar, as well as a unique, streamlined hull design.
The DDG-1000's complicated, high-tech content, Young said, makes its design and construction an admittedly expensive endeavor. Cost of a first prototype, or lead, DDG-1000 ship is estimated to be around $3.2 billion, he said, with prices of follow-on vessels likely to decrease due to industrial economies of scale.
The design and development of the DDG-1000 "has gone well," Young said, noting that the program has "gone to budget [and] gone on schedule."
Initial plans were to build 32 of the DDG-1000-series vessels at the Bath and Ingalls shipyards. Today, the Defense Department's proposed fiscal 2010 budget calls for building just three vessels.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today told members of the Naval War College in Newport R.I., that the United States will require a naval presence in the future.
"But we cannot allow more ships to go the way of the DDG-1000," Gates told the Naval War College audience. The DDG-1000's rising cost per ship, he noted, was among the reasons for buying reduced numbers.
Gates has recommended building more Arleigh Burke-class vessels and upgrading those now in the fleet. Sixty-four Arleigh Burkes have been built, not counting the two new ones slated for construction at the Ingalls shipyard.
Gates also deemed the arrangement for constructing DDG-1000s at the two shipyards as inefficient and too costly to taxpayers, Young said.
"I think it was important to him that we build these ships efficiently," Young said of his understanding of Gates' reasoning.
If the DDG-1000s couldn't be efficiently produced, Gates "was potentially prepared, even in the face of clear political danger, to go back and possibly cancel two ships, and that would have cut jobs in both shipyards," Young said.
Face of Defense: Air Force Band Member Enjoys Audience Interaction
By Army Spc. Eric J. CullenSpecial to American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - For Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Castle, the opportunity to play for Haitian children at the U.S. Embassy here April 15 was a privilege. The U.S. Air Force Band of the West, based at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort as part Continuing Promise 2009, a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored humanitarian mission.
Castle said he heard about a career in music in the military while attending graduate school at Rice University in Houston.
"I wanted a career serving as a performer," he said. "I love to boost morale and play in the ceremonies for our troops."
The performance went well at the embassy, Castle said, and the audience of mostly youth received the band with open arms.
"It was great," he said. "The kids were wonderfully behaved, very attentive and very appreciative. It feels good to be partners and friends with them."
Continuing Promise 2009 combines U.S. military and interagency personnel, civil service mariners, nongovernmental organizations, academia and partner nations to provide medical, dental, veterinary and engineering services afloat and ashore alongside host-nation personnel. Comfort is on a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission that will visit seven countries in the region.
"Any time you can interact with the audience and everyone is engaged in the music, it is very exciting," Castle said.
(Army Spc. Eric J. Cullen is deployed to Operation Continuing Promise 2009.)
Gates Says America Must Protect Conventional Capabilities
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - Though the proposed fiscal 2010 defense budget reflects some shifts in emphasis, it is important for the United States to maintain its capabilities for conventional warfare dominance, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told members of the Naval War College here today. But America also must be ready to face enemies across a wide spectrum of conflict, the secretary said.
Gates spoke at the Marine Corps War College on April 13, the Air War College on April 15 and the Army War College yesterday to present his rationale for budget-related decisions. In all three venues, he emphasized the idea that programs that aid warfighters have to have advocates.
This, he said, was why he placed programs that aid those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the base budgets of the services, rather than in supplemental funding requests. It's also why he recommends eliminating other programs, such as the airborne laser, the Air Force's combat search and rescue helicopter, the vehicle portion of the Army's Future Combat System and several missile programs, he said.
The Pentagon's processes for procurement and acquisition of new systems have to change, Gates said. In a lesson from history, he told the students that when Henry Knox, the country's first war secretary, was charged with building America's fleet in 1797, he had to build six frigates in six different shipyards in six different states to gain congressional support for the plan. "So some things never change," Gates said.
The secretary's recommendations for the Navy include accelerating procurement of the littoral combat ship. He acknowledged that the ship -- designed to operate in shallow waters near the coast -- has had problems, but said it's past those problems now.
"As you saw last week, you don't necessarily need a billion-dollar ship to chase down a bunch of teenage pirates," he said. "The size of the ship in such cases is less important than having Navy SEALs on board."
The United States still will need naval presence in the future, Gates said, noting that a U.S. Navy ship is a traveling piece of American territory that can influence friends and enemies around the world. "But we cannot allow more ships to go the way of the DDG-1000," he added. Since its inception, he noted, the projected buy of the Zumwalt-class destroyer has dwindled from 32 ships to three, as costs per ship have more than doubled.
Gates has recommended building more Arleigh Burke-class ships and upgrading the rest. He called the ship class the workhorse of the fleet.
The new focus requires new thinking, because the United States cannot build ships as it did during the Cold War, the secretary said. The Quadrennial Defense Review will provide the framework for this strategy, he told the Naval War College audience.
The secretary said America must put discussions about the Navy in perspective. "As much as the U.S. Navy has shrunk since the end of the Cold War, ... its battle fleet ... is still larger than the next 13 navies combined – and 11 of those 13 navies are U.S. allies or partners," he said. "In terms of capabilities, the overmatch is even greater."
No other country has the reach and firepower of carrier strike groups or expeditionary strike groups. But those are targets as well, and the American military must look for ways to counter threats to these assets from nontraditional foes with nontraditional capabilities, Gates said.
U.S. sailors are all over the world in many settings that previous thinkers wouldn't have thought possible, Gates noted.
"All of the services are challenged to find the right balance between preserving what is unique and valuable in their traditions, while at the same time making the changes necessary to win the wars we are in and, particularly in the case of the Navy, be prepared for likely future threats," Gates said. "With this budget, I have tried to make a holistic assessment of the capabilities, requirements, risks and needs across the services."
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - Though the proposed fiscal 2010 defense budget reflects some shifts in emphasis, it is important for the United States to maintain its capabilities for conventional warfare dominance, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told members of the Naval War College here today. But America also must be ready to face enemies across a wide spectrum of conflict, the secretary said.
Gates spoke at the Marine Corps War College on April 13, the Air War College on April 15 and the Army War College yesterday to present his rationale for budget-related decisions. In all three venues, he emphasized the idea that programs that aid warfighters have to have advocates.
This, he said, was why he placed programs that aid those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the base budgets of the services, rather than in supplemental funding requests. It's also why he recommends eliminating other programs, such as the airborne laser, the Air Force's combat search and rescue helicopter, the vehicle portion of the Army's Future Combat System and several missile programs, he said.
The Pentagon's processes for procurement and acquisition of new systems have to change, Gates said. In a lesson from history, he told the students that when Henry Knox, the country's first war secretary, was charged with building America's fleet in 1797, he had to build six frigates in six different shipyards in six different states to gain congressional support for the plan. "So some things never change," Gates said.
The secretary's recommendations for the Navy include accelerating procurement of the littoral combat ship. He acknowledged that the ship -- designed to operate in shallow waters near the coast -- has had problems, but said it's past those problems now.
"As you saw last week, you don't necessarily need a billion-dollar ship to chase down a bunch of teenage pirates," he said. "The size of the ship in such cases is less important than having Navy SEALs on board."
The United States still will need naval presence in the future, Gates said, noting that a U.S. Navy ship is a traveling piece of American territory that can influence friends and enemies around the world. "But we cannot allow more ships to go the way of the DDG-1000," he added. Since its inception, he noted, the projected buy of the Zumwalt-class destroyer has dwindled from 32 ships to three, as costs per ship have more than doubled.
Gates has recommended building more Arleigh Burke-class ships and upgrading the rest. He called the ship class the workhorse of the fleet.
The new focus requires new thinking, because the United States cannot build ships as it did during the Cold War, the secretary said. The Quadrennial Defense Review will provide the framework for this strategy, he told the Naval War College audience.
The secretary said America must put discussions about the Navy in perspective. "As much as the U.S. Navy has shrunk since the end of the Cold War, ... its battle fleet ... is still larger than the next 13 navies combined – and 11 of those 13 navies are U.S. allies or partners," he said. "In terms of capabilities, the overmatch is even greater."
No other country has the reach and firepower of carrier strike groups or expeditionary strike groups. But those are targets as well, and the American military must look for ways to counter threats to these assets from nontraditional foes with nontraditional capabilities, Gates said.
U.S. sailors are all over the world in many settings that previous thinkers wouldn't have thought possible, Gates noted.
"All of the services are challenged to find the right balance between preserving what is unique and valuable in their traditions, while at the same time making the changes necessary to win the wars we are in and, particularly in the case of the Navy, be prepared for likely future threats," Gates said. "With this budget, I have tried to make a holistic assessment of the capabilities, requirements, risks and needs across the services."
Chairman Emphasizes Need to "Get It Right" for Soldiers, Families
By Heather Graham
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - Making sure "we get it right" for the nation's soldiers and their families is his top priority, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told about 400 4th Infantry Division soldiers here yesterday. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen was here to thank soldiers and families for their sacrifices and service, and to listen to their concerns, comments and questions.
During a morning question-and-answer session with the soldiers, Mullen fielded inquiries relating to phasing out the "stop-loss" program that keeps some soldiers in the Army beyond expiration of their enlistments, as well as suicide prevention and mental health, "dwell time" at home stations between deployments and the Warrior Pay program.
Responding to one soldier's query about stop-loss, Mullen said he has not been a supporter of the program for a long time and thinks it needs to go away. "It is my expectation we will continue to call on the [Individual Ready Reserve]," he said.
Most of the questions dealt directly with deployments and what the future holds for the soldiers and their families.
"We live in extraordinary times of change," Mullen told the Fort Hood soldiers, most of whom recently returned from 15 months in Iraq. Continual deployments with no end in sight were part of the chairman's message, especially as the focus shifts to the war in Afghanistan. Mullen also acknowledged that the need to balance training with limited dwell time at home has stretched the force.
"You've met that challenge and all things associated with it," the chairman said.
Mullen said he would take input he received here to Washington and "incorporate the information into the leadership challenges we have to make to move forward."
Those challenges include increasing dwell time while providing resources and training to meet the mission in Iraq and the shifting focus to Afghanistan.
"We've got to win the fights we're in while building the health of the force and more time at home," Mullen said.
As troops are entering the eighth year of the nation being at war, the Army and Marines are on a "1-and-1" rotation schedule, serving one year deployed with one year at home before the next deployment. Mullen said he does not expect that schedule to change soon, but that "in 18 to 24 months, we should see more daylight between deployments."
Though the Iraq mission is winding down, the war effort is shifting to Afghanistan, with 17,000 troops scheduled to deploy there, mostly in the south, in the next few months, Mullen said. An additional 4,000 troops focused on training Afghan forces are expected to deploy later this year.
The chairman said when additional troops are brought in, violence is expected to go up at first, the chairman said.
"Hopefully, roughly one year from now, we will have that turned around," he said. "I am hoping in the next 12 months we have taken significant steps to turn the tide."
"Home-tempo," Mullen's term for nights spent at home, is expected to rise significantly beginning in late 2010 through mid-2011. Soldiers could start to see 15 or 18 months, and eventually 24 months of dwell time between deployments, he said.
"Our long-term goal is to be home for three years," he added. "We will move in that direction."
As the Army continues to grow and the new units are up to speed, the pressure on soldiers should begin to ease, Mullen said. But this is an expeditionary Army, he noted, and it will continue in that vein.
"I don't see a time when deployments end," he said.
Therefore, he said, the Army must do all that it can to ensure soldiers and their families are taken care of and receive the support and resources they need.
"We could not be where we are without family support," Mullen said. "We cannot sustain if we don't continue to support the families."
Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Miles, a 4th Infantry Division chaplain's assistant who recently returned from his third deployment to Iraq and sixth overall, agreed with the chairman that family support is vital to soldiers' ability to complete their missions overseas.
"My family has been my backbone," Miles said. One key to that support, he added, has been open lines with his wife and children.
"Communication has been important," he said.
Over time, Mullen said, support services -- especially mental health services -- have evolved and expanded to meet the needs of soldiers and their families. He addressed the mounting suicide rates across the services, and especially in the Army.
Suicides are at an all-time high, the admiral noted, and prevention is a primary focus on all levels. Addressing and relieving stress are important to suicide prevention, he added.
Though one suicide is too many, the chairman said, he noted that Fort Hood has had only one confirmed suicide this year.
"I applaud what you are doing," he said. "But we cannot rest on our laurels, because lives are at stake."
The stigma of seeking help for mental health issues has to end, Mullen added, and soldiers need to know they can ask for help without penalty or harassment.
Combat stresses are normal, he emphasized, and receiving professional help should be encouraged to help soldiers process and cope with their war experiences.
"It is a natural human condition after you've been through what you've been through," he said. "We've got to continue to focus on this."
Mullen said he looks to leaders to make sure people are taking care of each other. "In the toughest of times, it's great leadership that gets us through," he said, and the leadership piece is something that needs to continue to be worked.
"We need to retain the best, recruit the best and look to the future," he said.
Following his meeting, Mullen toured the installation. He met with families and viewed some of the programs and facilities offered for wounded troops, Gold Star Families, spiritual fitness and resilience.
(Heather Graham works in the 3rd Corps public affairs office.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - Making sure "we get it right" for the nation's soldiers and their families is his top priority, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told about 400 4th Infantry Division soldiers here yesterday. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen was here to thank soldiers and families for their sacrifices and service, and to listen to their concerns, comments and questions.
During a morning question-and-answer session with the soldiers, Mullen fielded inquiries relating to phasing out the "stop-loss" program that keeps some soldiers in the Army beyond expiration of their enlistments, as well as suicide prevention and mental health, "dwell time" at home stations between deployments and the Warrior Pay program.
Responding to one soldier's query about stop-loss, Mullen said he has not been a supporter of the program for a long time and thinks it needs to go away. "It is my expectation we will continue to call on the [Individual Ready Reserve]," he said.
Most of the questions dealt directly with deployments and what the future holds for the soldiers and their families.
"We live in extraordinary times of change," Mullen told the Fort Hood soldiers, most of whom recently returned from 15 months in Iraq. Continual deployments with no end in sight were part of the chairman's message, especially as the focus shifts to the war in Afghanistan. Mullen also acknowledged that the need to balance training with limited dwell time at home has stretched the force.
"You've met that challenge and all things associated with it," the chairman said.
Mullen said he would take input he received here to Washington and "incorporate the information into the leadership challenges we have to make to move forward."
Those challenges include increasing dwell time while providing resources and training to meet the mission in Iraq and the shifting focus to Afghanistan.
"We've got to win the fights we're in while building the health of the force and more time at home," Mullen said.
As troops are entering the eighth year of the nation being at war, the Army and Marines are on a "1-and-1" rotation schedule, serving one year deployed with one year at home before the next deployment. Mullen said he does not expect that schedule to change soon, but that "in 18 to 24 months, we should see more daylight between deployments."
Though the Iraq mission is winding down, the war effort is shifting to Afghanistan, with 17,000 troops scheduled to deploy there, mostly in the south, in the next few months, Mullen said. An additional 4,000 troops focused on training Afghan forces are expected to deploy later this year.
The chairman said when additional troops are brought in, violence is expected to go up at first, the chairman said.
"Hopefully, roughly one year from now, we will have that turned around," he said. "I am hoping in the next 12 months we have taken significant steps to turn the tide."
"Home-tempo," Mullen's term for nights spent at home, is expected to rise significantly beginning in late 2010 through mid-2011. Soldiers could start to see 15 or 18 months, and eventually 24 months of dwell time between deployments, he said.
"Our long-term goal is to be home for three years," he added. "We will move in that direction."
As the Army continues to grow and the new units are up to speed, the pressure on soldiers should begin to ease, Mullen said. But this is an expeditionary Army, he noted, and it will continue in that vein.
"I don't see a time when deployments end," he said.
Therefore, he said, the Army must do all that it can to ensure soldiers and their families are taken care of and receive the support and resources they need.
"We could not be where we are without family support," Mullen said. "We cannot sustain if we don't continue to support the families."
Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Miles, a 4th Infantry Division chaplain's assistant who recently returned from his third deployment to Iraq and sixth overall, agreed with the chairman that family support is vital to soldiers' ability to complete their missions overseas.
"My family has been my backbone," Miles said. One key to that support, he added, has been open lines with his wife and children.
"Communication has been important," he said.
Over time, Mullen said, support services -- especially mental health services -- have evolved and expanded to meet the needs of soldiers and their families. He addressed the mounting suicide rates across the services, and especially in the Army.
Suicides are at an all-time high, the admiral noted, and prevention is a primary focus on all levels. Addressing and relieving stress are important to suicide prevention, he added.
Though one suicide is too many, the chairman said, he noted that Fort Hood has had only one confirmed suicide this year.
"I applaud what you are doing," he said. "But we cannot rest on our laurels, because lives are at stake."
The stigma of seeking help for mental health issues has to end, Mullen added, and soldiers need to know they can ask for help without penalty or harassment.
Combat stresses are normal, he emphasized, and receiving professional help should be encouraged to help soldiers process and cope with their war experiences.
"It is a natural human condition after you've been through what you've been through," he said. "We've got to continue to focus on this."
Mullen said he looks to leaders to make sure people are taking care of each other. "In the toughest of times, it's great leadership that gets us through," he said, and the leadership piece is something that needs to continue to be worked.
"We need to retain the best, recruit the best and look to the future," he said.
Following his meeting, Mullen toured the installation. He met with families and viewed some of the programs and facilities offered for wounded troops, Gold Star Families, spiritual fitness and resilience.
(Heather Graham works in the 3rd Corps public affairs office.)
National Security Personnel System Goes Under Microscope
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - The federal government's largest pay-for-performance system, the National Security Personnel System, is under review at the request of the Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management. Since October 2006, about 205,000 defense employees were brought under the new NSPS, which replaced the 50-plus-year-old General Schedule system.
"With new leadership under a new administration, this review provides an opportunity for the department and OPM to gain a full understanding of NSPS, including how the system is operating, what the issues are, and the various stakeholder viewpoints and perspectives," Bradley Bunn, NSPS program executive officer, said. "The results of the review will assist leadership in determining the future of the program."
The review was announced March 16, and should take three to six months, Bunn said. The findings and recommendations are expected to be delivered in late summer.
The structure of the review is still being determined, Bunn added. It likely will be an external review to provide an objective assessment, which is how the department has approached reviews of other significant issues.
"We expect the review to include a thorough and comprehensive examination of the NSPS policies, regulations, and practices, as well as the underlying design principles of the system," he said. "We also expect the review to consider reports and evaluations already conducted on NSPS by external organizations such as the Government Accountability Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the Office of Personnel Management."
The review also may include outreach to a number of stakeholders, including senior leaders, managers and supervisors, employees, labor and professional groups, Congress, and experts in human resources policy, Bunn said.
"It will be important to gain the perspectives of those affected by NSPS," he said. "We expect that civilian employees will have an opportunity to make their views known, although we don't know how that will happen yet."
The Defense Department has suspended conversions of GS positions to NSPS until at least October, according to the NSPS Web site.
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - The federal government's largest pay-for-performance system, the National Security Personnel System, is under review at the request of the Defense Department and the Office of Personnel Management. Since October 2006, about 205,000 defense employees were brought under the new NSPS, which replaced the 50-plus-year-old General Schedule system.
"With new leadership under a new administration, this review provides an opportunity for the department and OPM to gain a full understanding of NSPS, including how the system is operating, what the issues are, and the various stakeholder viewpoints and perspectives," Bradley Bunn, NSPS program executive officer, said. "The results of the review will assist leadership in determining the future of the program."
The review was announced March 16, and should take three to six months, Bunn said. The findings and recommendations are expected to be delivered in late summer.
The structure of the review is still being determined, Bunn added. It likely will be an external review to provide an objective assessment, which is how the department has approached reviews of other significant issues.
"We expect the review to include a thorough and comprehensive examination of the NSPS policies, regulations, and practices, as well as the underlying design principles of the system," he said. "We also expect the review to consider reports and evaluations already conducted on NSPS by external organizations such as the Government Accountability Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the Office of Personnel Management."
The review also may include outreach to a number of stakeholders, including senior leaders, managers and supervisors, employees, labor and professional groups, Congress, and experts in human resources policy, Bunn said.
"It will be important to gain the perspectives of those affected by NSPS," he said. "We expect that civilian employees will have an opportunity to make their views known, although we don't know how that will happen yet."
The Defense Department has suspended conversions of GS positions to NSPS until at least October, according to the NSPS Web site.
Clinton Observes Continuing Promise at Work in Haiti
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton got a first-hand look yesterday at the humanitarian assistance a military, interagency and nongovernmental team is providing here as she toured a medical clinic set up during Continuing Promise 2009. Clinton visited the facility in the Cite Soleil section of Haiti's capital city, where she chatted with medical professionals who arrived here aboard USNS Comfort to provide critically needed medical and dental care to some of Haiti's poorest people.
Comfort, home-ported in Baltimore, arrived in Port au Prince harbor April 9, the first stop during its four-month mission through Latin America and the Caribbean. Its 850-member crew also will visit Antigua, Barbuda, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama before returning to the United States.
In addition to conducting 15 to 20 surgeries daily aboard the 250-bed floating hospital, crewmembers are treating about 500 patients a day at two onshore medical sites set up through coordination with Haiti's health ministry, said Navy Capt. James J. Ware, who oversees Comfort's medical operations.
Navy Capt. Robert G. Lineberry Jr., Comfort's commodore and tactical commander, walked Clinton through the Cite Soleil site, describing the U.S. Southern Command-sponsored Continuing Promise mission.
The secretary shook hands with the medical staff as she toured the facility and posed for photos with the Comfort's medical staff. "Thank you for what you do here!" she called out, waving as she passed other crewmembers attending to patients.
"I'm very impressed and grateful that our country is able to provide this service," Clinton said as she left the building where dental, pediatric, women's health and pharmaceutical services are delivered.
Lineberry said Clinton was particularly impressed by the scale of the operation and the number of participating international and humanitarian organizations. "She sees that we certainly could be doing it even better with more organizations," he said.
The Comfort crew called Clinton's visit a highlight of a mission just begun, but already punctuated by high points.
"It shows that they actually care about what we are doing here, that they take the time to come down here and see it," said Navy Seaman Robert Barnes, a personnel specialist from Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla.
He said he hopes Clinton would see "that what we're doing is all worth it: people helping other people get medical care they wouldn't otherwise get."
"I hope she sees how much hard work we're doing here, and how we're giving aid to people less fortunate than in the United States," echoed Navy Seaman Laura Pickett, who works in a small tent just outside the dental treatment facility, sterilizing dental equipment.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Carlos Ramossanchez, a pharmacy technician from Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., said the message he most wanted Clinton to take away was "the great work that all the organizations are doing, all working together, to take care of people."
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Peters, assigned to Maritime Civil Affairs Squadron 2 in Yorktown, Va., said Continuing Promise goes beyond the desperately needed care the USNS Comfort crew is providing. "It's about relationship-building between the two countries, and building communications and lasting partnerships," he said.
Clinton's visit came the day after she promised Haitian Prime Minister Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis in Washington that the United States will remain a "committed partner" in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Lineberry called the visit a great opportunity to showcase how the Continuing Promise mission directly supports that commitment.
Before USNS Comfort launched the mission earlier this month, Lineberry and Ware met with the embassy staff at every country to be visited. "We sat within the embassy staff and with [the U.S. Agency for International Development] and asked, 'What is your plan, and how can we help you carry it out or help you with your objectives?'" Lineberry said.
This unity of effort helps to ensure all players are working cooperatively to support the same goals, while bringing an immense capability to the effort, he said.
Later during Continuing Promise 2009, when USNS Comfort visits Colombia, crewmembers will roll up their sleeves to support a major USAID effort under way there, Lineberry said. USAID helped to relocate about 200 families who were living in a low-lying area that regularly flooded to higher ground.
"Now we will be going in at the request of the embassy and USAID and put in a playground area and a community garden for this new community that USAID has put a lot of effort and resources into," Lineberry said. "Those are the kinds of opportunities we are looking for, with the Department of Defense working alongside the Department of State to achieve our objectives together."
American Forces Press Service
April 17, 2009 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton got a first-hand look yesterday at the humanitarian assistance a military, interagency and nongovernmental team is providing here as she toured a medical clinic set up during Continuing Promise 2009. Clinton visited the facility in the Cite Soleil section of Haiti's capital city, where she chatted with medical professionals who arrived here aboard USNS Comfort to provide critically needed medical and dental care to some of Haiti's poorest people.
Comfort, home-ported in Baltimore, arrived in Port au Prince harbor April 9, the first stop during its four-month mission through Latin America and the Caribbean. Its 850-member crew also will visit Antigua, Barbuda, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama before returning to the United States.
In addition to conducting 15 to 20 surgeries daily aboard the 250-bed floating hospital, crewmembers are treating about 500 patients a day at two onshore medical sites set up through coordination with Haiti's health ministry, said Navy Capt. James J. Ware, who oversees Comfort's medical operations.
Navy Capt. Robert G. Lineberry Jr., Comfort's commodore and tactical commander, walked Clinton through the Cite Soleil site, describing the U.S. Southern Command-sponsored Continuing Promise mission.
The secretary shook hands with the medical staff as she toured the facility and posed for photos with the Comfort's medical staff. "Thank you for what you do here!" she called out, waving as she passed other crewmembers attending to patients.
"I'm very impressed and grateful that our country is able to provide this service," Clinton said as she left the building where dental, pediatric, women's health and pharmaceutical services are delivered.
Lineberry said Clinton was particularly impressed by the scale of the operation and the number of participating international and humanitarian organizations. "She sees that we certainly could be doing it even better with more organizations," he said.
The Comfort crew called Clinton's visit a highlight of a mission just begun, but already punctuated by high points.
"It shows that they actually care about what we are doing here, that they take the time to come down here and see it," said Navy Seaman Robert Barnes, a personnel specialist from Naval Hospital Pensacola, Fla.
He said he hopes Clinton would see "that what we're doing is all worth it: people helping other people get medical care they wouldn't otherwise get."
"I hope she sees how much hard work we're doing here, and how we're giving aid to people less fortunate than in the United States," echoed Navy Seaman Laura Pickett, who works in a small tent just outside the dental treatment facility, sterilizing dental equipment.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Carlos Ramossanchez, a pharmacy technician from Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., said the message he most wanted Clinton to take away was "the great work that all the organizations are doing, all working together, to take care of people."
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Peters, assigned to Maritime Civil Affairs Squadron 2 in Yorktown, Va., said Continuing Promise goes beyond the desperately needed care the USNS Comfort crew is providing. "It's about relationship-building between the two countries, and building communications and lasting partnerships," he said.
Clinton's visit came the day after she promised Haitian Prime Minister Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis in Washington that the United States will remain a "committed partner" in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Lineberry called the visit a great opportunity to showcase how the Continuing Promise mission directly supports that commitment.
Before USNS Comfort launched the mission earlier this month, Lineberry and Ware met with the embassy staff at every country to be visited. "We sat within the embassy staff and with [the U.S. Agency for International Development] and asked, 'What is your plan, and how can we help you carry it out or help you with your objectives?'" Lineberry said.
This unity of effort helps to ensure all players are working cooperatively to support the same goals, while bringing an immense capability to the effort, he said.
Later during Continuing Promise 2009, when USNS Comfort visits Colombia, crewmembers will roll up their sleeves to support a major USAID effort under way there, Lineberry said. USAID helped to relocate about 200 families who were living in a low-lying area that regularly flooded to higher ground.
"Now we will be going in at the request of the embassy and USAID and put in a playground area and a community garden for this new community that USAID has put a lot of effort and resources into," Lineberry said. "Those are the kinds of opportunities we are looking for, with the Department of Defense working alongside the Department of State to achieve our objectives together."
National Guard Connects Military, American People, Gates Says
By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - The National Guard is one of the best connections between the armed forces and the public, the secretary of defense said yesterday. "Our best connection to the American people and to communities is, in fact, the reserve component – the National Guard and the Reserves," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told an Air War College audience at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. "The fact that they have been turned into an operational reserve and have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and go back to their communities ... has had a huge impact."
Gates said that's easy to see in any newspaper around the country. "All you have to do is read about what happens in towns and cities when our fallen come home, where the whole town turns out ... with flags and lining the streets and so on."
Gates was responding to a question that suggested that Americans are more likely to know who has won "American Idol" than who has earned the Medal of Honor.
Some people were concerned that an all-volunteer force would create an elite force unconnected to the country, Gates said. But, in fact, "the all-volunteer force is the best military the United States has ever had" – and the National Guard is a vital link between men and women in uniform and civilians.
Calling the all-volunteer force "America's greatest strategic asset," Gates talked about changes in the direction of the Defense Department.
"Starting with the roll-out of the Iraq surge, my overriding priority has been getting troops at the front everything they need to fight, to win and to survive, while making sure that they and their families are properly cared for when they return," Gates said.
Among key changes Gates cited: fixing outpatient care, getting better armored vehicles and sending more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability into the combat theater.
Getting such capabilities into the hands of warfighters is a focus of Gate's request in the fiscal 2010 Defense Department budget. "While the military has made great strides in operating jointly over the last two decades," he said, "procurement remains overwhelmingly service-centric. ... It's so important to look across the services for joint procurement and joint capability so that a single service doesn't bear the full burden of completing a mission that actually will involve all of the services."
The secretary also stressed the importance of partnerships, using the recent spate of piracy off Somalia's coast as an example in noting that the key difference between dealing with piracy in Southeast Asia and dealing with it in Somalia has been partnership capacity.
"There was a huge piracy problem in the Strait of Malacca, and hijackings were almost as frequent as they are now off of Somalia," Gates said. But partnerships with other governments have significantly reduced piracy in Asia, he said.
"The problem is that in the Somalia area, we don't have governments like we had in Southeast Asia to be able to deal with the problem," he said. "That's what makes Somalia a particularly difficult issue."
The National Guard contributes to building partnership capacity through its State Partnership Program, which pairs 61 countries worldwide with states and territories.
Partnership activities include exchanges by high-level military and civilian leaders. Military-to-military contacts bring state National Guard members together with foreign troops. Military-to-civilian activities focus on homeland defense, homeland security and military support to civilian authorities, including disaster preparedness, emergency response and consequence management.
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - The National Guard is one of the best connections between the armed forces and the public, the secretary of defense said yesterday. "Our best connection to the American people and to communities is, in fact, the reserve component – the National Guard and the Reserves," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told an Air War College audience at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. "The fact that they have been turned into an operational reserve and have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and go back to their communities ... has had a huge impact."
Gates said that's easy to see in any newspaper around the country. "All you have to do is read about what happens in towns and cities when our fallen come home, where the whole town turns out ... with flags and lining the streets and so on."
Gates was responding to a question that suggested that Americans are more likely to know who has won "American Idol" than who has earned the Medal of Honor.
Some people were concerned that an all-volunteer force would create an elite force unconnected to the country, Gates said. But, in fact, "the all-volunteer force is the best military the United States has ever had" – and the National Guard is a vital link between men and women in uniform and civilians.
Calling the all-volunteer force "America's greatest strategic asset," Gates talked about changes in the direction of the Defense Department.
"Starting with the roll-out of the Iraq surge, my overriding priority has been getting troops at the front everything they need to fight, to win and to survive, while making sure that they and their families are properly cared for when they return," Gates said.
Among key changes Gates cited: fixing outpatient care, getting better armored vehicles and sending more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability into the combat theater.
Getting such capabilities into the hands of warfighters is a focus of Gate's request in the fiscal 2010 Defense Department budget. "While the military has made great strides in operating jointly over the last two decades," he said, "procurement remains overwhelmingly service-centric. ... It's so important to look across the services for joint procurement and joint capability so that a single service doesn't bear the full burden of completing a mission that actually will involve all of the services."
The secretary also stressed the importance of partnerships, using the recent spate of piracy off Somalia's coast as an example in noting that the key difference between dealing with piracy in Southeast Asia and dealing with it in Somalia has been partnership capacity.
"There was a huge piracy problem in the Strait of Malacca, and hijackings were almost as frequent as they are now off of Somalia," Gates said. But partnerships with other governments have significantly reduced piracy in Asia, he said.
"The problem is that in the Somalia area, we don't have governments like we had in Southeast Asia to be able to deal with the problem," he said. "That's what makes Somalia a particularly difficult issue."
The National Guard contributes to building partnership capacity through its State Partnership Program, which pairs 61 countries worldwide with states and territories.
Partnership activities include exchanges by high-level military and civilian leaders. Military-to-military contacts bring state National Guard members together with foreign troops. Military-to-civilian activities focus on homeland defense, homeland security and military support to civilian authorities, including disaster preparedness, emergency response and consequence management.
(Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill serves at the National Guard Bureau.)
MILITARY CONTRACTS April 16, 2009
AIR FORCE
The Air Force is awarding a cost-reimbursement, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract to the University of Dayton Research Institute of Dayton, Ohio for $15,100,000. This contract action will enable the quick reaction evaluation of materials and processes. At this time, $154,133 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRL/PKMN, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-5600).
NAVY
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an $11,577,286 firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for implementation of Engineering Change Proposal 6282, "Fatigue Test Article 50/Fatigue Test Article 77 Post-Cost Reduction Initiative Inner Wing Retrofit Out of Warranty Kits" for the F/A-18E/F aircraft, including 144 wing pylon spar fitting kits. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in November 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $1,800,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
The Air Force is awarding a cost-reimbursement, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract to the University of Dayton Research Institute of Dayton, Ohio for $15,100,000. This contract action will enable the quick reaction evaluation of materials and processes. At this time, $154,133 has been obligated. Det 1 AFRL/PKMN, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio is the contracting activity (FA8650-09-D-5600).
NAVY
McDonnell Douglas Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded an $11,577,286 firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for implementation of Engineering Change Proposal 6282, "Fatigue Test Article 50/Fatigue Test Article 77 Post-Cost Reduction Initiative Inner Wing Retrofit Out of Warranty Kits" for the F/A-18E/F aircraft, including 144 wing pylon spar fitting kits. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo., and is expected to be completed in November 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $1,800,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
Obama Discusses Mutual Security Interests of U.S., Latin America
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - President Barack Obama said it's critical for the United States to support Mexico's efforts to take on drug cartels that have "plagued both sides of the border." After a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Los Pinos, Mexico, Obama discussed the security partnership between the neighboring countries and the broader interests of the region.
"At a time when the Mexican government has so courageously taken on the drug cartels that have plagued both sides of the borders, it is absolutely critical that the United States joins as a full partner in dealing with this issue, both through initiatives like the Merida Initiative, but also on our side of the border, in dealing with the flow of guns and cash south," he said.
The Merida Initiative will provide equipment and training in support of law enforcement operations and technical assistance to promote the long-term reform, oversight and professionalization of Mexico's security agencies, according to the State Department.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently said intelligence sharing, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities are areas where the U.S. military can help Mexican forces, and added the military-to-military relationship with Mexico is in the best shape he has ever seen.
"There is a significant opportunity to continue to cooperate and to focus very heavily with respect to the needs on the border and the kinds of capabilities that they need from an intelligence and equipping piece," he said after meeting with Mexican leaders in Mexico City.
Obama called Mexico a global leader, and emphasized the importance of partnering on items of mutual interest, including terrorism and other security issues.
"These are issues in which the United States and Mexico will have to stand side by side in order to promote common security and common prosperity," he said.
The president's remarks come on the same day that he published an opinion article in more than a dozen U.S. and Latin American newspapers urging unity among regional partners. "Just as we advance our common prosperity, we must advance our common security. Too many in our hemisphere are forced to live in fear," Obama wrote. "That is why the United States will strongly support respect for the rule of law, better law enforcement, and stronger judicial institutions."
Ahead of the fifth Summit of the Americas, which runs April 17 – 19 at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Obama underscored the importance of advancing common security interests, highlighting the United States' unique responsibility.
"Security for our citizens must be advanced through our commitment to partner with those who are courageously battling drug cartels, gangs and other criminal networks throughout the Americas," he wrote, adding, "Our efforts start at home.
"By reducing demand for drugs and curtailing the illegal flow of weapons and bulk cash south across our border, we can advance security in the United States and beyond," he continued. "And going forward, we will sustain a lasting dialogue in the hemisphere to ensure that we are building on best practices, adapting to new threats, and coordinating our efforts."
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - President Barack Obama said it's critical for the United States to support Mexico's efforts to take on drug cartels that have "plagued both sides of the border." After a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Los Pinos, Mexico, Obama discussed the security partnership between the neighboring countries and the broader interests of the region.
"At a time when the Mexican government has so courageously taken on the drug cartels that have plagued both sides of the borders, it is absolutely critical that the United States joins as a full partner in dealing with this issue, both through initiatives like the Merida Initiative, but also on our side of the border, in dealing with the flow of guns and cash south," he said.
The Merida Initiative will provide equipment and training in support of law enforcement operations and technical assistance to promote the long-term reform, oversight and professionalization of Mexico's security agencies, according to the State Department.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently said intelligence sharing, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities are areas where the U.S. military can help Mexican forces, and added the military-to-military relationship with Mexico is in the best shape he has ever seen.
"There is a significant opportunity to continue to cooperate and to focus very heavily with respect to the needs on the border and the kinds of capabilities that they need from an intelligence and equipping piece," he said after meeting with Mexican leaders in Mexico City.
Obama called Mexico a global leader, and emphasized the importance of partnering on items of mutual interest, including terrorism and other security issues.
"These are issues in which the United States and Mexico will have to stand side by side in order to promote common security and common prosperity," he said.
The president's remarks come on the same day that he published an opinion article in more than a dozen U.S. and Latin American newspapers urging unity among regional partners. "Just as we advance our common prosperity, we must advance our common security. Too many in our hemisphere are forced to live in fear," Obama wrote. "That is why the United States will strongly support respect for the rule of law, better law enforcement, and stronger judicial institutions."
Ahead of the fifth Summit of the Americas, which runs April 17 – 19 at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Obama underscored the importance of advancing common security interests, highlighting the United States' unique responsibility.
"Security for our citizens must be advanced through our commitment to partner with those who are courageously battling drug cartels, gangs and other criminal networks throughout the Americas," he wrote, adding, "Our efforts start at home.
"By reducing demand for drugs and curtailing the illegal flow of weapons and bulk cash south across our border, we can advance security in the United States and beyond," he continued. "And going forward, we will sustain a lasting dialogue in the hemisphere to ensure that we are building on best practices, adapting to new threats, and coordinating our efforts."
Warfighters Top Budget Priorities, Gates Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - Making sure warfighters have everything they need "to fight, to win and to survive, while making sure that they and their families are properly cared for when they return" was the "overriding priority" of the fiscal 2010 Defense Budget request, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. As part of rebalancing the department's efforts, Gates told students at the Army War College here that he wants all DoD personnel to be on a war footing. Since taking office in December 2006, he said, he has noticed that this is not necessarily the case, "even as young Americans were fighting and dying every day."
Part of the problem, Gates said, was that many in the department viewed the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as aberrations and not the likely models of future U.S. conflicts. The fact that mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles did not have a regular place in the Army or Marine Corps future planning, despite their success in theater, was in example of the problem, he said.
"Therefore, we should not spend too much, or buy too much equipment not already in our long-range procurement plans, or turn our bureaucracies and processes upside down," Gates said. "As a result of these failed assumptions, the capabilities most urgently needed by our warfighters were, for the most part, fielded ad hoc and on the fly, developed outside the regular bureaucracy and funded in supplemental appropriations that would go away when the wars did – if not sooner."
But wars like Iraq and Afghanistan will not go away, the secretary, which led to his budget recommendations to give the warfighters a seat at the budget table. Gates shifted funding for programs that benefit the warfighters from supplemental appropriations to the services' base budgets.
"One of the things I have learned since entering government 43 years ago is that the best way to ensure that an organization really cares for and protects something is to put that thing in its base budget," he said.
Programs to benefit the warfighters include such things as more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. The changes bulk up special operations forces and "train and equip" programs for foreign militaries. The changes also call for more tactical and strategic airlift.
"This shift should be of special resonance to our ground forces, which have borne the human and material brunt of the current conflicts," Gates said.
The secretary also seeks to change the strategic mind-set of Defense leaders. DoD needs "to recognize that the black and white distinction between conventional and irregular conflict is an outdated model," he said.
The future will be more complex and an enemy will likely confront America again, Gates said. Even near-peer competitors are likely to use asymmetric tactics, including cyber-warfare, guerilla tactics and low-tech roadside and car bombs, he said.
"Future adversaries will continue to employ new readily available technologies in sinister ways," he said. "They will adapt and develop new tactics, techniques and procedures as fast as they can imagine ways to gain any advantage on us. This kind of warfare will require innovative, versatile leaders and capabilities with the maximum possible flexibility to deal with the widest possible range of conflict."
Another thing that has to change is the acquisition and procurement system, Gates said. The department and the services must work more closely together. The American military is a world-class, joint organization. This joint capability, unfortunately, does not carry over to acquisition, he said.
"Where different modernization programs within services exist to counter roughly the same threat, or accomplish roughly the same mission, we should look more to capabilities available across the services," Gates said.
The services need to work together more closely and a capability in one service must be taken into consideration by other services, he said.
The military needs to shift away from the 99 percent "exquisite" service-centric solutions. These programs are costly and take too long to build, Gates said.
"With the pace of technological and geopolitical change, and the range of possible contingencies, we must look more to the 80 percent solution that can be produced on time, on budget and in significant numbers. As Stalin once said, 'Quantity has a quality all its own," said Gates, who holds a doctorate in Russian studies.
Gates explained his recommendation to cancel the Army's Future Combat Systems vehicle program, saying it
does not fully take in the lessons learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That the service needs to modernize is not a question. It's how best to do it, the secretary said.
"Before we spend 10 years and nearly $90 billion, and before we send young soldiers downrange, we had better be sure to get it right – or as close to right as we can," he said.
Gates said the Army will keep the money with hopes that a vehicle program can be re-launched. "My hope is that we can be ready to move forward in fiscal 2011," he said. "And I have directed that all the money for FCS in the out-years be protected to fund the new vehicle modernization program."
Gates said that other decisions remain to be made. The Quadrennial Defense Review and the Nuclear Posture Review will provide guidance for the fiscal 2011 budget.
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - Making sure warfighters have everything they need "to fight, to win and to survive, while making sure that they and their families are properly cared for when they return" was the "overriding priority" of the fiscal 2010 Defense Budget request, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. As part of rebalancing the department's efforts, Gates told students at the Army War College here that he wants all DoD personnel to be on a war footing. Since taking office in December 2006, he said, he has noticed that this is not necessarily the case, "even as young Americans were fighting and dying every day."
Part of the problem, Gates said, was that many in the department viewed the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as aberrations and not the likely models of future U.S. conflicts. The fact that mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles did not have a regular place in the Army or Marine Corps future planning, despite their success in theater, was in example of the problem, he said.
"Therefore, we should not spend too much, or buy too much equipment not already in our long-range procurement plans, or turn our bureaucracies and processes upside down," Gates said. "As a result of these failed assumptions, the capabilities most urgently needed by our warfighters were, for the most part, fielded ad hoc and on the fly, developed outside the regular bureaucracy and funded in supplemental appropriations that would go away when the wars did – if not sooner."
But wars like Iraq and Afghanistan will not go away, the secretary, which led to his budget recommendations to give the warfighters a seat at the budget table. Gates shifted funding for programs that benefit the warfighters from supplemental appropriations to the services' base budgets.
"One of the things I have learned since entering government 43 years ago is that the best way to ensure that an organization really cares for and protects something is to put that thing in its base budget," he said.
Programs to benefit the warfighters include such things as more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. The changes bulk up special operations forces and "train and equip" programs for foreign militaries. The changes also call for more tactical and strategic airlift.
"This shift should be of special resonance to our ground forces, which have borne the human and material brunt of the current conflicts," Gates said.
The secretary also seeks to change the strategic mind-set of Defense leaders. DoD needs "to recognize that the black and white distinction between conventional and irregular conflict is an outdated model," he said.
The future will be more complex and an enemy will likely confront America again, Gates said. Even near-peer competitors are likely to use asymmetric tactics, including cyber-warfare, guerilla tactics and low-tech roadside and car bombs, he said.
"Future adversaries will continue to employ new readily available technologies in sinister ways," he said. "They will adapt and develop new tactics, techniques and procedures as fast as they can imagine ways to gain any advantage on us. This kind of warfare will require innovative, versatile leaders and capabilities with the maximum possible flexibility to deal with the widest possible range of conflict."
Another thing that has to change is the acquisition and procurement system, Gates said. The department and the services must work more closely together. The American military is a world-class, joint organization. This joint capability, unfortunately, does not carry over to acquisition, he said.
"Where different modernization programs within services exist to counter roughly the same threat, or accomplish roughly the same mission, we should look more to capabilities available across the services," Gates said.
The services need to work together more closely and a capability in one service must be taken into consideration by other services, he said.
The military needs to shift away from the 99 percent "exquisite" service-centric solutions. These programs are costly and take too long to build, Gates said.
"With the pace of technological and geopolitical change, and the range of possible contingencies, we must look more to the 80 percent solution that can be produced on time, on budget and in significant numbers. As Stalin once said, 'Quantity has a quality all its own," said Gates, who holds a doctorate in Russian studies.
Gates explained his recommendation to cancel the Army's Future Combat Systems vehicle program, saying it
does not fully take in the lessons learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That the service needs to modernize is not a question. It's how best to do it, the secretary said.
"Before we spend 10 years and nearly $90 billion, and before we send young soldiers downrange, we had better be sure to get it right – or as close to right as we can," he said.
Gates said the Army will keep the money with hopes that a vehicle program can be re-launched. "My hope is that we can be ready to move forward in fiscal 2011," he said. "And I have directed that all the money for FCS in the out-years be protected to fund the new vehicle modernization program."
Gates said that other decisions remain to be made. The Quadrennial Defense Review and the Nuclear Posture Review will provide guidance for the fiscal 2011 budget.
America's Servicemembers Deserve Nation's Gratitude, Biden Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - U.S. servicemembers' combat missions over the years -- in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq -- have earned them the support and thanks of a grateful nation, Vice President Joe Biden told troops at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., today. Today's generation of American warriors, Biden said, are "the most powerful, best disciplined, best-trained warriors America has ever, ever produced. And for that I thank you and we owe you -- and that is not an exaggeration."
So, the U.S. government is working hard to "improve the quality of life on bases all across America," Biden said, noting that $17.8 million is being invested at Whiteman to modernize the base and improve the quality of life for its servicemembers.
Additionally, Biden said, recent legislation includes more than $7 billion for military construction projects, including hospitals, child care centers, and upgraded housing.
The government also has expanded GI Bill benefits to make college more affordable for servicemembers and military veterans, Biden said.
"All in all, this administration is wholly devoted to serving the brave women and men in uniform," the vice president said. "As you sacrifice to serve our country, we should do a little sacrifice serving you."
And funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Biden said, has been boosted by $25 billion.
"That's never happened before," he said. "It's the biggest (VA) budget increase in a generation."
Thousands of wounded warriors "will need the most modern medical health
care for the rest of their lives," Biden pointed out. "The cost of that will be in the tens of billions of dollars. But it's a sacred, a sacred commitment."
Increased health care coverage, he said, will provide 5.5 million veterans with timely and high-quality health care.
"We're providing services to veterans with the efficiency and quality they deserve, and keeping that deep debt that we owe that you should and have a right to demand," Biden told servicemembers.
"We owe you a particular obligation today," he said, "because there's tens of thousands of men and women who have already fought and continue to fight bravely for our country in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Biden also saluted National Guard members who deploy overseas and the families -- reserve and active component -- who support them at home.
"It's become a day job for tens of thousands of Guardsmen, in addition to all your families," he said.
Biden also praised the families of servicemembers who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the families of wounded warriors.
"I say to the families, thank you, thank you, and we owe you -- we owe you as deeply as we owe your kin, your blood," Biden said.
Servicemembers' "unyielding commitment" to the defense of their nation, Biden said, is part of what "makes each and every one of you so special."
Biden's son, Joseph "Beau" Biden III, an Army National Guard captain, is serving in Iraq.
"So from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of every one of those young men and women on the ground, like my son in Iraq, I say to all of you, I admire you, the president admires you, and we are putting our money where our mouth is in terms of seeing to it that you have everything you need as you deploy, when you deploy, and when you come home," he said.
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - U.S. servicemembers' combat missions over the years -- in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq -- have earned them the support and thanks of a grateful nation, Vice President Joe Biden told troops at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., today. Today's generation of American warriors, Biden said, are "the most powerful, best disciplined, best-trained warriors America has ever, ever produced. And for that I thank you and we owe you -- and that is not an exaggeration."
So, the U.S. government is working hard to "improve the quality of life on bases all across America," Biden said, noting that $17.8 million is being invested at Whiteman to modernize the base and improve the quality of life for its servicemembers.
Additionally, Biden said, recent legislation includes more than $7 billion for military construction projects, including hospitals, child care centers, and upgraded housing.
The government also has expanded GI Bill benefits to make college more affordable for servicemembers and military veterans, Biden said.
"All in all, this administration is wholly devoted to serving the brave women and men in uniform," the vice president said. "As you sacrifice to serve our country, we should do a little sacrifice serving you."
And funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Biden said, has been boosted by $25 billion.
"That's never happened before," he said. "It's the biggest (VA) budget increase in a generation."
Thousands of wounded warriors "will need the most modern medical health
care for the rest of their lives," Biden pointed out. "The cost of that will be in the tens of billions of dollars. But it's a sacred, a sacred commitment."
Increased health care coverage, he said, will provide 5.5 million veterans with timely and high-quality health care.
"We're providing services to veterans with the efficiency and quality they deserve, and keeping that deep debt that we owe that you should and have a right to demand," Biden told servicemembers.
"We owe you a particular obligation today," he said, "because there's tens of thousands of men and women who have already fought and continue to fight bravely for our country in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Biden also saluted National Guard members who deploy overseas and the families -- reserve and active component -- who support them at home.
"It's become a day job for tens of thousands of Guardsmen, in addition to all your families," he said.
Biden also praised the families of servicemembers who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the families of wounded warriors.
"I say to the families, thank you, thank you, and we owe you -- we owe you as deeply as we owe your kin, your blood," Biden said.
Servicemembers' "unyielding commitment" to the defense of their nation, Biden said, is part of what "makes each and every one of you so special."
Biden's son, Joseph "Beau" Biden III, an Army National Guard captain, is serving in Iraq.
"So from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of every one of those young men and women on the ground, like my son in Iraq, I say to all of you, I admire you, the president admires you, and we are putting our money where our mouth is in terms of seeing to it that you have everything you need as you deploy, when you deploy, and when you come home," he said.
Gates Discusses Tough Decisions, Congressional Oversight
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - In his two-and-a-half years as Defense secretary, Robert M. Gates has had many hard decisions to make. But none, he said here today, compare to the difficulty of his part in sending men and women into combat. "The rest of it all pales by comparison," Gates told students at the Army War College here. "Knowing what I have to do, but knowing the consequences."
Approving combat deployments, Gates said, is not an ethical issue for him, "but it is the toughest moral issue that I face."
Gates made the comments as part of a question-and-answer session with the audience following a speech he gave about his recommended fiscal 2010 Defense Budget, his third such speech at a military college this week.
Responding to an audience member's question, Gates said the decisions get tougher the higher in government a person climbs. "If there was a good option, somebody at a lower level would have made the decision and taken credit for it," he said. "By the time a decision gets to the president or the secretary of Defense, more often than not, you're having to choose the least bad option. And the question that is always difficult is sending people into battle and knowing the cost."
The secretary also spoke about the need for congressional oversight in departmental decisions. As a government worker for 43 years, Gates said he has always been guided by adherence to U.S. law.
"I have always believed that, as painful and frustrating as it can be, that congressional oversight, whether it's over intelligence or over the military, is absolutely essential to keeping us all on the right track," he said.
In the next few weeks, Gates said he anticipates interesting conversations with Congress members on his fiscal 2010 recommendations. "I actually kind of look forward to that because I think there is, in some areas, some misunderstanding about the nature of the decisions that have been made," he said.
Gates also discussed changes in the way that DoD civilians are trained. "One of the areas where I am working on developing human capital is on the civilian side," he said. "For a variety of reasons, a good part of the civilian part of our business has been turned over to contractors."
There are more contractors working for the Defense Department than there are government employees, Gates said.
"We are in much the same situation in the whole acquisition, contracting and procurement world," he said. "We have thousands and thousands and thousands of contractors helping us manage contractors. And so first thing we're going to do is we're going to rebuild the professional acquisition cadre in the Department of Defense – with professional civil servants."
In the next five years, the goal is to put in 20,000 civil servants replacing contractors, Gates said. Next year he wants to start with 4,000.
The secretary also was questioned about the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals in the military. "We will do what the president tells us to," Gates said.
The policy is not just a policy, it is law, and the military will uphold the law, Gates said. "If the law changes, so will our policies," he said.
Gates said he and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have begun a dialogue on this issue with President Barack Obama. The issue is complex and difficult, and the force is already under considerable strain from two wars, he said.
"The president has been clear about where he wants to go and what he thinks needs to be done," Gates said. "But I think that he is approaching this in a deliberate and cautious manner, so that if we do go down that road, we do it right and we do it in a way that mitigates any down sides."
Gates said he agrees with that approach. "I believe this is something that needs to be done very, very carefully," he said.
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - In his two-and-a-half years as Defense secretary, Robert M. Gates has had many hard decisions to make. But none, he said here today, compare to the difficulty of his part in sending men and women into combat. "The rest of it all pales by comparison," Gates told students at the Army War College here. "Knowing what I have to do, but knowing the consequences."
Approving combat deployments, Gates said, is not an ethical issue for him, "but it is the toughest moral issue that I face."
Gates made the comments as part of a question-and-answer session with the audience following a speech he gave about his recommended fiscal 2010 Defense Budget, his third such speech at a military college this week.
Responding to an audience member's question, Gates said the decisions get tougher the higher in government a person climbs. "If there was a good option, somebody at a lower level would have made the decision and taken credit for it," he said. "By the time a decision gets to the president or the secretary of Defense, more often than not, you're having to choose the least bad option. And the question that is always difficult is sending people into battle and knowing the cost."
The secretary also spoke about the need for congressional oversight in departmental decisions. As a government worker for 43 years, Gates said he has always been guided by adherence to U.S. law.
"I have always believed that, as painful and frustrating as it can be, that congressional oversight, whether it's over intelligence or over the military, is absolutely essential to keeping us all on the right track," he said.
In the next few weeks, Gates said he anticipates interesting conversations with Congress members on his fiscal 2010 recommendations. "I actually kind of look forward to that because I think there is, in some areas, some misunderstanding about the nature of the decisions that have been made," he said.
Gates also discussed changes in the way that DoD civilians are trained. "One of the areas where I am working on developing human capital is on the civilian side," he said. "For a variety of reasons, a good part of the civilian part of our business has been turned over to contractors."
There are more contractors working for the Defense Department than there are government employees, Gates said.
"We are in much the same situation in the whole acquisition, contracting and procurement world," he said. "We have thousands and thousands and thousands of contractors helping us manage contractors. And so first thing we're going to do is we're going to rebuild the professional acquisition cadre in the Department of Defense – with professional civil servants."
In the next five years, the goal is to put in 20,000 civil servants replacing contractors, Gates said. Next year he wants to start with 4,000.
The secretary also was questioned about the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals in the military. "We will do what the president tells us to," Gates said.
The policy is not just a policy, it is law, and the military will uphold the law, Gates said. "If the law changes, so will our policies," he said.
Gates said he and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have begun a dialogue on this issue with President Barack Obama. The issue is complex and difficult, and the force is already under considerable strain from two wars, he said.
"The president has been clear about where he wants to go and what he thinks needs to be done," Gates said. "But I think that he is approaching this in a deliberate and cautious manner, so that if we do go down that road, we do it right and we do it in a way that mitigates any down sides."
Gates said he agrees with that approach. "I believe this is something that needs to be done very, very carefully," he said.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Soldier Missing In Action From Korean War Is Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Pfc. David Woodruff, U.S. Army, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. He will be buried on April 22 in St. Louis, Mo.
Representatives from the Army's Mortuary Office met with Woodruff's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Woodruff was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 9th Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. In early 1951, the 2nd ID was augmented by Republic of Korea (R.O.K.) forces and was occupying positions near Hoengsong, South Korea. On Feb. 11, the Chinese Army launched a massive attack on the U.S. line, overwhelming R.O.K. forces and exposing the American flank. The 2nd ID was forced to withdraw to the south and Woodruff was captured by enemy forces. He died in, or near, one of the North Korean prison camps in Suan County, North Hwanghae Province.
Between 1991-94, North Korea turned over to the United States 208 boxes of remains believed to contain the remains of 200-400 U.S. servicemen. One box turned over in 1991 contained Woodruff's military identification tag, and a box turned over in 1992 contained remains recovered from Suan County.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains turned over in 1992.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
He is Pfc. David Woodruff, U.S. Army, of Poplar Bluff, Mo. He will be buried on April 22 in St. Louis, Mo.
Representatives from the Army's Mortuary Office met with Woodruff's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Woodruff was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 9th Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. In early 1951, the 2nd ID was augmented by Republic of Korea (R.O.K.) forces and was occupying positions near Hoengsong, South Korea. On Feb. 11, the Chinese Army launched a massive attack on the U.S. line, overwhelming R.O.K. forces and exposing the American flank. The 2nd ID was forced to withdraw to the south and Woodruff was captured by enemy forces. He died in, or near, one of the North Korean prison camps in Suan County, North Hwanghae Province.
Between 1991-94, North Korea turned over to the United States 208 boxes of remains believed to contain the remains of 200-400 U.S. servicemen. One box turned over in 1991 contained Woodruff's military identification tag, and a box turned over in 1992 contained remains recovered from Suan County.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains turned over in 1992.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.
Humanitarian Volunteers Help to Fuel Continuing Promise Partnership
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - Several dozen pallets stretched across a docking area here yesterday – a fraction of those waiting to be loaded onto trucks for distribution throughout Haiti -- providing a tangible symbol of evolving partnerships officials call key to Continuing Promise 2009's success. Navy Capt. Robert G. Lineberry Jr., commodore and tactical commander of the hospital ship USNS Comfort, presided at a ceremonial handover of more than 350 pallets of humanitarian support donated by international aid groups.
Comfort, making the first stop of its four-month humanitarian assistance mission through the region, transported the pallets of 1.4 million meals, medical supplies, blankets, baby wipes and hygiene supplies to Haiti from the United States.
After anchoring about three miles offshore in Port au Prince harbor April 9, Navy aircrews began ferrying the supplies ashore, sling-loading them from MH-60 Seahawks.
"It was a lot of work," conceded Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Basham, a Navy civil affairs practitioner who helped stage the pallets aboard ship, then offloaded them ashore. "But the feeling I have about this is really good. I met a lot of good people who I know they will do great things with it.
"After all," he said, "this is all part of enhancing the partnership of the Continuing Promise mission."
Lineberry praised the partnerships that not only made the deliveries possible, but also are bringing critical skills and support to the Continuing Promise mission.
"Over the last two days, the team onboard Comfort has moved over 350 pallets here into Haiti," he told a group assembled under a tent to shade them from the hot mid-day sun. "Today, we take time to recognize our great partners who helped us all along the way to make this mission so valuable."
The first Continuing Promise mission, in 2007, included just "a handful" of nongovernmental organization representatives, Lineberry told American Forces Press Service.
"We've learned a lot in this mission and expanded our number of partners," he said. "We learned very quickly of the capability, the willingness and the resources that our partners have – and that they want to be out here with us."
So this Continuing Promise mission, the fourth through Latin America and the Caribbean during the past three years, includes representatives of nearly a dozen humanitarian groups.
They're people like Rob Voynow, a licensed practical nurse who said he jumped at the chance to participate, along with 13 other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "This is something that just doesn't come along every day," Voynow said. "It's a way to make an important contribution, bringing different types of expertise."
David Eddey, special projects manager for Project Hope, got his first exposure to the military when he served aboard USNS Mercy, Comfort's sister ship, providing disaster response and humanitarian relief following the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. "Since then, Project Hope has developed a wonderful working relationship with the military," he said.
Project Hope has 20 volunteers aboard Comfort, and will contribute a total of 97 volunteers before Continuing Promise wraps up in late July.
Eddey expressed pride in the mission's evolution during the past two years, particularly the increasing role of host-country nongovernmental organizations. "We're breaking down barriers and showing synergistically what it's possible for us to do together," he said. "We're working together to bring hope to people in need."
Together, these and other participating nongovernmental organizations have quadrupled donations to the mission since Continuing Promise 2007, noted Capt. Thomas J. Finger, a civilian Military Sealift Command boat captain and Comfort's master.
"What we're hoping is that these food and hygiene and medical supplies will, over time, improve the quality of life of the neediest Haitians," Finger said.
In addition, many of the humanitarian volunteers bring medical and dental skills to the mission, working alongside military and U.S. Public Health Service medical professionals aboard Comfort and at clinics ashore.
The partnership makes the most of strengths each participating entity brings to the effort, Lineberry said. This includes the military's extensive planning capabilities -- "an enormous resource" on USNS Comfort, he said.
The 250-bed floating hospital is equipped and staffed to provide just about any kind of medical treatment except open-heart surgery or organ transplants.
Nearly halfway into its 10-day visit to Haiti, its crew of medical professionals from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, international partners, U.S. Public Health Service and nongovernmental organizations is conducting 15 to 25 surgeries a day, according to Navy Capt. James J. Ware, who overseas Comfort medical operations.
Meanwhile, the staff is seeing about 500 patients a day at onshore medical sites set up through coordination with Haiti's health ministry, he said.
"We know we can't do everything today," Ware said at yesterday's ceremony. "But we will be back with our partners. We hope to bring additional international doctors and nurses, and all work together for the benefit of the people of Haiti."
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - Several dozen pallets stretched across a docking area here yesterday – a fraction of those waiting to be loaded onto trucks for distribution throughout Haiti -- providing a tangible symbol of evolving partnerships officials call key to Continuing Promise 2009's success. Navy Capt. Robert G. Lineberry Jr., commodore and tactical commander of the hospital ship USNS Comfort, presided at a ceremonial handover of more than 350 pallets of humanitarian support donated by international aid groups.
Comfort, making the first stop of its four-month humanitarian assistance mission through the region, transported the pallets of 1.4 million meals, medical supplies, blankets, baby wipes and hygiene supplies to Haiti from the United States.
After anchoring about three miles offshore in Port au Prince harbor April 9, Navy aircrews began ferrying the supplies ashore, sling-loading them from MH-60 Seahawks.
"It was a lot of work," conceded Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Basham, a Navy civil affairs practitioner who helped stage the pallets aboard ship, then offloaded them ashore. "But the feeling I have about this is really good. I met a lot of good people who I know they will do great things with it.
"After all," he said, "this is all part of enhancing the partnership of the Continuing Promise mission."
Lineberry praised the partnerships that not only made the deliveries possible, but also are bringing critical skills and support to the Continuing Promise mission.
"Over the last two days, the team onboard Comfort has moved over 350 pallets here into Haiti," he told a group assembled under a tent to shade them from the hot mid-day sun. "Today, we take time to recognize our great partners who helped us all along the way to make this mission so valuable."
The first Continuing Promise mission, in 2007, included just "a handful" of nongovernmental organization representatives, Lineberry told American Forces Press Service.
"We've learned a lot in this mission and expanded our number of partners," he said. "We learned very quickly of the capability, the willingness and the resources that our partners have – and that they want to be out here with us."
So this Continuing Promise mission, the fourth through Latin America and the Caribbean during the past three years, includes representatives of nearly a dozen humanitarian groups.
They're people like Rob Voynow, a licensed practical nurse who said he jumped at the chance to participate, along with 13 other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "This is something that just doesn't come along every day," Voynow said. "It's a way to make an important contribution, bringing different types of expertise."
David Eddey, special projects manager for Project Hope, got his first exposure to the military when he served aboard USNS Mercy, Comfort's sister ship, providing disaster response and humanitarian relief following the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. "Since then, Project Hope has developed a wonderful working relationship with the military," he said.
Project Hope has 20 volunteers aboard Comfort, and will contribute a total of 97 volunteers before Continuing Promise wraps up in late July.
Eddey expressed pride in the mission's evolution during the past two years, particularly the increasing role of host-country nongovernmental organizations. "We're breaking down barriers and showing synergistically what it's possible for us to do together," he said. "We're working together to bring hope to people in need."
Together, these and other participating nongovernmental organizations have quadrupled donations to the mission since Continuing Promise 2007, noted Capt. Thomas J. Finger, a civilian Military Sealift Command boat captain and Comfort's master.
"What we're hoping is that these food and hygiene and medical supplies will, over time, improve the quality of life of the neediest Haitians," Finger said.
In addition, many of the humanitarian volunteers bring medical and dental skills to the mission, working alongside military and U.S. Public Health Service medical professionals aboard Comfort and at clinics ashore.
The partnership makes the most of strengths each participating entity brings to the effort, Lineberry said. This includes the military's extensive planning capabilities -- "an enormous resource" on USNS Comfort, he said.
The 250-bed floating hospital is equipped and staffed to provide just about any kind of medical treatment except open-heart surgery or organ transplants.
Nearly halfway into its 10-day visit to Haiti, its crew of medical professionals from the Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, international partners, U.S. Public Health Service and nongovernmental organizations is conducting 15 to 25 surgeries a day, according to Navy Capt. James J. Ware, who overseas Comfort medical operations.
Meanwhile, the staff is seeing about 500 patients a day at onshore medical sites set up through coordination with Haiti's health ministry, he said.
"We know we can't do everything today," Ware said at yesterday's ceremony. "But we will be back with our partners. We hope to bring additional international doctors and nurses, and all work together for the benefit of the people of Haiti."
Teamwork Brings Blend of Skills, Mutual Commitment to Continuing Promise
By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - From a distance, the U.S. Southern Command-sponsored Continuing Promise humanitarian assistance effort underway here looks every bit like a military mission. It's based around the massive hospital ship USNS Comfort, a supertanker-turned-Military Sealift Command hospital ship initially outfitted in the late 1980s to treat mass casualties. Three-quarters of its crew is military, mostly medical personnel.
But Navy Capt. Robert G. Lineberry Jr., Comfort's commodore and tactical commander, is quick to note that Continuing Promise is far more than a military mission.
"This is a combined team," he said of the vessel's 850-member crew. "It's joint. It's international. It's coalition. It's U.S. Public Health Service.
"In addition," Lineberry said, "we've teamed up with many international organizations to help one another do the things that we all want and need to do in the Americas."
This mix brings more capabilities to the four-month mission through Latin America and the Caribbean, participants say, than any of their groups could accomplish alone.
Meanwhile, Lineberry said, they're learning from one another so they're better prepared to work together if needed to respond to a natural disaster or other humanitarian crisis.
"One thing an operation like this does – because it's joint, multinational and interagency – is make you appreciate what other people are doing or trying to do," said Navy Capt. Tim Hardy, who oversees the medical clinic set up in Port au Prince's Cite Soleil district.
"It helps you realize that there is more than one way to do something."
"This is fabulous," said Dutch air force reserve Maj. Tom Visser, a doctor who volunteered for the mission. "We all do the same things, but in slightly different ways. But for all of us, it's about taking care of patients the best we can."
Canadian army Sgt. Robert Roy said he, too, welcomed the chance to apply his skills as a physician's assistant to help needy Haitians. "I volunteer for everything – especially the chance to participate in a humanitarian mission as big as this one," he said.
With 31 years in the Canadian army under his belt, Roy is no stranger to combined operations. He said he's seen steady improvement in how they're conducted after participating in combined missions in Bosnia, Africa and, most recently, Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
Here during Continuing Promise 2009, Roy said, those lessons are being reinforced as joint, international, interagency and nongovernmental partners work together to provide medical, dental, veterinary and engineering support for the Haitian people.
"This is a really great partnership," Roy said. "We're learning different techniques, combining them, and learning together as we work toward a common goal. And when we go home, we will take all this experience with us."
The learning process extends beyond the medical clinics and the USNS Comfort hospital ship. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Danny Nocon, for example, works alongside the Haitian police to provide crowd control at onshore medical sites.
"The Haitian local police do things a little differently," Nocon said. "The cultural exchange is the real value. What we are really learning is that we are different – but not really different. We all share common values."
French army Warrant Officer Galmaidie David, a nurse stationed in Martinique, called working side by side with partner nations' militaries particularly fulfilling, knowing that they are delivering care to people in the region who desperately need it.
Few aid groups have the organizational and logistical capabilities that the military can bring to carry out a mission of this scope, he said.
"It's wonderful to have this," he said of Continuing Promise. "The most important thing is that so many nations all want to work together and do something for these countries."
Mivoyel Jean Paul, a policy program analyst with the U.S. Public Health Service, said he's seen the same cooperative spirit both aboard ship and at medical clinics ashore. "What I notice is a willingness of everyone to help," he said. "We all have a common goal."
A native of Haiti, Jean Paul said he's been pleased – perhaps even a bit surprised – at the willingness of the Continuing Comfort leadership to listen to his suggestions, and often act on them.
"It impresses me," he said. "And it's a great thing, because with good leadership and cooperation, we can do anything."
Face of Defense: Marine Inspires Youth Through Football
By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Bobby J. YarbroughSpecial to American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - While growing up in the inner city of St. Louis, Marine Corps Sgt. Timothy Craig had two choices: turn to sports or the streets. For Craig, football was the answer. He started playing at age 7, was very successful and pursued it throughout his youth.
During high school, Craig grew into a leader on the field, which kept him on the right path even while school presented its challenges.
"I struggled with school work," he admitted. "The only reason I went to high school was because of football."
Craig continued to struggle with school work throughout high school and beyond. After a year at Joplin Junior College in Joplin, Mo., his grades were not holding up, and Craig had to abandon his dream of playing college football. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2004.
While serving in California with the Corps, Craig continued to play an active role in the football community, coaching a youth league at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and playing on the all-Marine team at Camp Pendleton. After arriving on Okinawa in 2007, he became a coach in the Kadena Youth Tackle Football League. After two seasons, the league was disbanded because there wasn't enough interest.
But Craig saw things differently.
"A lot of the kids were heartbroken," Craig said. "I thought it was upsetting that these kids had no outlet, and I thought something had to be done. These kids sacrifice enough being part of the military community, and I didn't think they should have to sacrifice football as well."
Seeing a need for a youth tackle football league, Craig decided to start up the Okinawa Youth Football League.
The league is straightforward. There are no contracts, trade deadlines, advertisements or concession stands. It is just 15 teams dedicated to football, pure and simple.
The entire league is funded by contributions from the players' parents, Craig said.
The league does not single out individual effort or award most valuable player trophies. Instead, coaches stress the importance of teamwork and how each player's contribution is important to the overall team. The players give their all, not for money, but only for the love of the game. They play through fatigue not for fame, but simply to learn the game of football, Craig said.
"The league teaches humility," he said. "Players learn the difference between winning and losing, they learn the definition of teamwork, and they learn about their individual character. But, as coaches, we remind them that it's not about winning and losing, it's about learning fundamentals and having fun."
Craig said the most important thing about the league is the academic performance a player must maintain to remain eligible to play. Coaches monitor grades, and players must maintain a 2.0 grade point average and proper attendance records.
"The league is built on the very principle that kept me from pursuing my dreams," Craig said. "I want these kids to realize that although sports are significant, the most important aspect is education"
(Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Bobby J. Yarbrough serves with Marine Corps Bases Japan.)
Group Joins Branson, Mo., in Saluting Purple Heart Veterans
By Sharon Foster
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - The Military Order of the Purple Heart, a Virginia-based troop-support group, will join the city of Branson, Mo., April 24 and 25 in a special "Hand in Hand" weekend honoring Purple Heart veterans across the country. The weekend will feature a wide variety of entertainment and sporting events designed specifically for wounded combat veterans, with free admission to all events.
"I want the general public, youth and all veterans to have the opportunity to learn more about the sacrifices that our veterans have made," Marlyce Stockinger, director of advertising and public relations for Branson.com, said. "They still continue to be a very vital part of our communities. I think this is a very important event. I am hoping that as they gather together, they will be able to chat and grow with each other's help."
The event, sponsored by Branson.com and the Branson Tourism Center, is expected to draw a huge gathering of wounded warriors from across the country.
"Our 45,000 members are all aware of this wonderful tribute," John E. Bircher III, director of public relations for Military Order of the Purple Heart, said. "We appreciate any event that honors the patriotic service of wounded warriors. In this case, the city of Branson has planned a wonderful weekend of free entertainment and events for not only Purple Heart recipients, but for all veterans."
Registration for this "Hand in Hand" weekend will be held the morning of April 24. Registration is required for the April 25 fishing tournament, admission to all planned events and discounts at local merchants.
After registration, the opening ceremony will take place, including music and comedy entertainment. Army Col. (Dr.) Hemant Thakur, an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder, will participate as a guest speaker. Military Order of the Purple Heart Vice Commander Clayton Jones and Missouri officials also will take part in the opening ceremonies.
On April 25, a drawing will be held for participation in the fishing tournament. Also, Purple Heart recipients and a guest may attend the Missouri Wine Festival and watch Purple Heart parachutist Dallas Wittgenfeld free fall and land using the world's largest American flag parachute at Chateau on the Lake.
Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Tony Rose, a 9/11 Pentagon survivor, will conclude events with remarks at the Purple Mountain Majesty Twilight Ceremony.
Events for the "Hand in Hand" weekend were planned by Branson.com, with the help of several local Purple Heart veterans.
"They wanted substance, as well as fun, so that is how I choose the programming," Stockinger said. "I knew PTSD was a major issue, and I have great respect for the National Military Order of Purple Heart and how they reach out to veterans. The fishing trip was because of the healing that I kept hearing about that occurs when veterans have the opportunity to fish or be on the water. The entertainment shows are for fun and laughter."
American Forces Press Service
April 16, 2009 - The Military Order of the Purple Heart, a Virginia-based troop-support group, will join the city of Branson, Mo., April 24 and 25 in a special "Hand in Hand" weekend honoring Purple Heart veterans across the country. The weekend will feature a wide variety of entertainment and sporting events designed specifically for wounded combat veterans, with free admission to all events.
"I want the general public, youth and all veterans to have the opportunity to learn more about the sacrifices that our veterans have made," Marlyce Stockinger, director of advertising and public relations for Branson.com, said. "They still continue to be a very vital part of our communities. I think this is a very important event. I am hoping that as they gather together, they will be able to chat and grow with each other's help."
The event, sponsored by Branson.com and the Branson Tourism Center, is expected to draw a huge gathering of wounded warriors from across the country.
"Our 45,000 members are all aware of this wonderful tribute," John E. Bircher III, director of public relations for Military Order of the Purple Heart, said. "We appreciate any event that honors the patriotic service of wounded warriors. In this case, the city of Branson has planned a wonderful weekend of free entertainment and events for not only Purple Heart recipients, but for all veterans."
Registration for this "Hand in Hand" weekend will be held the morning of April 24. Registration is required for the April 25 fishing tournament, admission to all planned events and discounts at local merchants.
After registration, the opening ceremony will take place, including music and comedy entertainment. Army Col. (Dr.) Hemant Thakur, an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder, will participate as a guest speaker. Military Order of the Purple Heart Vice Commander Clayton Jones and Missouri officials also will take part in the opening ceremonies.
On April 25, a drawing will be held for participation in the fishing tournament. Also, Purple Heart recipients and a guest may attend the Missouri Wine Festival and watch Purple Heart parachutist Dallas Wittgenfeld free fall and land using the world's largest American flag parachute at Chateau on the Lake.
Retired Army Sgt. Maj. Tony Rose, a 9/11 Pentagon survivor, will conclude events with remarks at the Purple Mountain Majesty Twilight Ceremony.
Events for the "Hand in Hand" weekend were planned by Branson.com, with the help of several local Purple Heart veterans.
"They wanted substance, as well as fun, so that is how I choose the programming," Stockinger said. "I knew PTSD was a major issue, and I have great respect for the National Military Order of Purple Heart and how they reach out to veterans. The fishing trip was because of the healing that I kept hearing about that occurs when veterans have the opportunity to fish or be on the water. The entertainment shows are for fun and laughter."
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